Too Much To Dream
by Ultrawoman
Summary: Post NFA. When two people find the end of the battle might not be the end of their lives, how will they take it? And how will it effect those who believe they've loved and lost? Spuffy and other pairings
1. Chapter 1

A/N : I had the idea for this fic quite a while ago but it took some time before I knew exactly how I wanted to write it. Here's hoping it is as popular as some of my other stories have been... Oh, parts of this first chapter are taken from the last ever Angel episode 'Not Fade Away'.

Title : Too Much To Dream  
Rating : PG-13  
Pairings : Eventually Spike/Buffy, and various others  
Summary : AtS/BtVS crossover. Post-Not Fade Away. Life is full of endings and beginnings, but most importantly second chances. When two people find the end of the battle might not be the end of their lives on Earth, how will they take it? And how will it effect those who believe they have loved and lost?  
Disclaimer : All recognisable characters belong to Joss Whedon, creator of all things Buffy and Angel. Anyone you don't recognise probably belongs to me!

Chapter 1

Location : Los Angeles, California, USA  
Time : May 19th 2004, 21:07

Spike took one last look at the envelope in his hand, hesitating slightly before pushing it firmly into the mailbox. He had a job to do tonight, places to go and demons to kill. It wasn't the first night but it could well be the last. He had to admit, as much as he called Angel a poncy bugger, he'd come up with a plan like no other, and Spike felt great respect for his grand-sire for what he was trying to achieve.

Tonight was the night they took on Wolfram & Hart, the Senior Partners, the biggest bad any of them had ever faced, and live or die it'd be worth it. One point for the good guys would be scored, even if they weren't around to know about it after. No matter if evil struck again the moment after he was dust, Spike was just determined to get his punch in first, and go down like he'd always knew he would, fighting to the last.

Before the big fight went down, Spike had a job to do. He wasn't far from the home of the Fall Brethren, where he must rescue the baby that was sacred to them now but would one day be a sacrifice. If he survived that, he was to meet the rest of the crew in the specified alley, to await the Senior Partners onslaught of pure hell-on-earth type violence...

Location : Los Angeles, California, USA  
Time : May 19th 2004, 23:26

"You're supposed to wear the red stuff on the inside, Charlie-boy" Spike told Gunn who was bleeding profusely from several places. Ignoring his own pain, the human asked if the vampires had heard anything from Wesley when suddenly Illyria jumped down from the fence, landing beside Angel.

"Wesley's dead" she stated bluntly as ever, "I'm feeling grief for him, and I can't seem to control it" she told them with that strange tilt of her head, "I wish to do more violence" she almost yelled.

The gang all look towards the mouth of the alley as a great horde of demons come towards them, all clearly ready for a fight.

"Well, wishes just happen to be horses today" Spike commented.

"Among other things" Angel added, taking in the sight of the oncoming attack. Demons of every shape and size, some brandishing weapons, some too vicious in form to need anything extra than what they already possessed.

"Okay" Gunn winced from the pain that ran through his entire body but tried to hide it, "You take the 30,000 on the left...

"You're fading" Illyria interrupted, "You'll last 10 minutes at best"

"Then let's make 'em memorable" he said suddenly finding hidden strength and pulling himself to his feet.

The four unlikely heroes stepped forward together as the rain lashed down all around them, and a dragon screeched overhead.

"In terms of a plan?" Spike yelled over the din to his grand-sire who gritted his teeth and prepared for battle.

"We fight" he said with determination and the bleached blond glanced back at him.

"Bit more specific?" he pressed, and Angel almost smiled when he replied.

"Well, personally, I kind of want to slay the dragon" he said as the group faced their final fight "Let's go to work"

As Angel swung his sword and moved into battle, his team followed, all destined for certain death, but none-the-less determined to fight on to the bitter end.

Location : Los Angeles, California, USA  
Time : May 20th 2004, 02:49

The first thing Illyria was aware of was severe pain through the entirety of her body, as she forced open her eyes and stared down at the filthy ground she lay upon. It appeared that her eyes were one of the few things she could move without causing herself to hurt in anymore places that she already did. Still she knew she had to get up, had to fight on, for Wesley's sake if nothing else. He gave his life for this fight and she must get revenge for him...and the others.

The memories of the fight turned her stomach. Violence she was used to, death and destruction were her tools as she ruled the planet full of lesser beings that worshipped at her feet. This had been different, violence against allies, those she had come to feel a certain respect for. Charles Gunn, sliced open by enemy blades till too many vital organs were punctured beyond repair and he fell to the ground, a useless shell. The fearless leader, Angel. He fought valiantly though his death was imminent. The sweep of a demon's weapon about his throat separated head from body and a fine layer of dust covered the battleground. Last to fall had been her white-haired companion. It was strange for Illyria to note that even as the stake was plunged into Spike's heart, the vampire was still smiling, still swinging his fists at anything within his reach until the final moment when he combusted into so many particles of nothingness.

How Illyria had survived she did not know as she pulled herself painfully to her feet. The rain had ceased but the entire world was dark, the alley a sea of demon bodies decorated with different coloured blood and gore. What was she to do now, who was she to fight against and who would be at her side. Her head swam from so many blows and too many thoughts and her hand went to her forehead as she glanced down at the ground.

She got the shock of her life when she saw a body she recognised at her feet, the body of Winifred Burkle, the shell she had possessed, but in the clothes she herself had worn and with the same bright blue eyes and streaked hair.

"This freaking you out too is it pet?" said a familiar voice behind her and with that strange tilt of her head she turned and observed a bleached blond figure kneeling on the ground, "This'd be the real me then" he commented, running a hand through some random dust, "Yet, here I am again, becoming a bit of a habit"

"We are dead" Illyria realised, looking down at the body at her feet and then back at Spike. The pain was gone now, it had left her along with the dizziness she had felt.

"We are dead" she repeated, "and yet we linger still"

"Guess the Powers that Screw-Over had bigger plans for you and me...not the others though" he closed his eyes and looked away from the sight of Gunn's broken body and the spot he'd seen his grande-sire turn to ash.

"We are ghost-like figures, as you once were before" Illyria recalled from Fred's memory bank that this floating figment of herself still possessed, "but for what purpose?" she asked her companion, moving over towards him.

"Dunno, luv" he told her, "Wish I did. S'not like we're much use to them Powers as we are" he demonstrated by passing his hand through the solid fence beside them, "Hey wait a second..." he frowned when he realised his hand was now glowing.

"What is this?" Illyria demanded to know as she realised her own hands were also bathed in a light that was slowly spreading over her entire form as well as that of Spike. There was no time for him to answer the question, as the two became consumed by unburning fire, and their figures disappeared from sight.

Location : Rome, Italy  
Time : May 25th 2004, 08:37

Andrew always loved picking up the mail in the morning. Though for the most part it was all for either Dawn or Buffy, he often hoped he might receive a note from one of the Scoobies, as the Slayer and her sister sometimes did. He longed to have such great friends, of course much of his loner status was his own fault for murdering his last companion.

This morning, however, Andrew was in luck. Half way down the stack of mail he found a letter bearing his name. He grinned brightly as he tore open the envelope and found another smaller one inside, along with a note. The second envelope had Buffy's name written upon it in the same flowing handwriting in which the note was scribed.

Andrew gasped as he read the words and tears sprang to his eyes. The words he read were written by Spike, one brave and heroic vampire who stood aside another, as well as two humans and a former-god. They'd taken on the most evil powers in the multiverse and the odds were stacked against them. They did not expect to survive, in fact quite the contrary, but Spike did not have it in him to leave this plane of existence without knowing he'd at least tried to gain Buffy's forgiveness for concealing his return from her.

He asked in his letter that Andrew explain for him, since he wouldn't get the chance. When she understood and had calmed down from the initial anger he knew she would feel, the boy was to give her the enclosed envelope, his very last words to his true love.

"Buffy!" Andrew called in a weak voice down the hall where the woman appeared, looking more than a little flustered.

"What is it Andrew? I'm kinda busy here" the Slayer complained, as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail and continually glanced back into the room she'd come from as she waited for an answer, "Come on Andrew, I can't leave the twins for long" she reminded him. When he still didn't answer she sighed going back into the room she'd come from.

When she emerged five minutes later, carrying two small children in a double baby-chair, Andrew was still standing exactly where he had been, one lone tear making a path down his cheek and his mouth opening and closing of it's own accord.

"Andrew?" Buffy frowned slightly now, as she began to worry what was wrong with the boy.

"Hey, what's going on?" Dawn asked as she emerged from her own room, yawning and stretching her arms over her head, making her tank top part company with her pyjama pants, "Oh hey, how are my two favourite nieces" she grinned when she saw the two little girls in their baby seats by the couch.

"They have to be your favourites, Dawnie, they're your _only_ nieces" Buffy rolled her eyes and smiled slightly, causing her sister to respond with an immature stick out of the tongue. Buffy's attention went back to Andrew who remained as still as a statue.

"This is getting real old, real fast" Buffy complained, taking the piece of paper from his hand before he could stop her, " 'Andrew, I don't have much time but I need you to do something for me...' " she read aloud, stopping short when she realised she recognised the hand-writing. Reading further, it all came together and she knew.

"Spike" she gasped his name, making Dawn glance up sharply from the twins to her sister.

"What?" she wanted to know, and both the Summer's girls looked to Andrew for an explanation.

"Maybe we should sit down" he said quietly.

He had an incredible story to tell, a real one this time. He'd kept too many secrets from both Buffy and Spike. It was too late to make up for what he'd concealed from the vampire, but he could make amends with the Slayer, he hoped.

Location : Unknown  
Time : Unknown

"What is happening?" Illyria asked as the glow around her body dissipated and she was no longer blinded by light. Spike was standing to her right, just as he had been in the alley, but they were no longer there, "I demand to know, who dares to play these foolish games with me!" she yelled, glancing around at the sheer vastness of the place in which they stood. Miles and miles of empty space, no shape, no solidity, no meaning of time or colour or anything.

"S'not just you, pet" Spike pointed out with a shake of his head, "'Nother pawn in this little game standing right here" he reminded her as he too wondered just what the hell was going on!

"Silence!" a booming voice made the vampire physically jump as it came loud and clear from above, "You will cease this noise or our favour shall be reversed"

"Favour?" Spike frowned, yelling up in the direction where the voice seemed to come from, "What favour's this then?" he was eager to know.

"The greatest favour a person can be offered" said a familiar voice as the figure of a woman stepped out of the white void in front of the pair of new arrivals.

"Tara?" Spike squinted to bring the approaching woman into focus. The figure of the witch smiled softly.

"You earned a gift, Spike" she told him, "You and Illyria both, and if all goes well here, it will be granted to you...before the world even notices you were gone"

_To Be Continued..._

**A/N2 : You're all probably wondering what the hell is going on right now, but many questions will be answered in the next chapter and those following - at least, that's the plan. Illyria is a different character for me, I never wrote her before but I hope she sounds in character so far, along with everyone else. Opinions by way of reviews are always of the good, and hopefully I'll be able to post some more of this storysoon.**


	2. Chapter 2

A/N : Thanx so much to everyone who reviewed the first chapter of this fic - ness345, Spuffy6, wolf116, Mony19, Moonjava, awesome, Moluvsnumber17, and OnlyHaveEyesForYou. I'm always nervous when I start posting a new story that it'll be really unpopular, but thankfully you all seem to like this one so far. Here's the next chapter...  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 2

Location : Rome, Italy  
Time : May 25th 2004, 11:51

"How could you not tell me this sooner!" Buffy said angrily slamming her hand down on the table. The sound startled both her children, one of whom began to cry.

"Oh Ellie" the Slayer got straight up and went to her, picking her up, "Mommy's sorry, she didn't mean to scare you"

Hearing her sister's apparent distress soon set off the other child and Dawn went to comfort her.

"Come on sweetie, it's okay Chloe" the brunette said softly as she held the child close. Buffy glared at Andrew over Eloise's head.

"What?" he said, "I didn't make them cry"

The Slayer's eyes narrowed further as she tried to hold back tears.

"How could you not tell me Spike was back?" she said angrily, "You knew for months and you didn't even mention it" she ground out, desperate not to cry or to yell and upset her children even more.

"It's not like I didn't wanna tell" Andrew complained, "but he made me promise, and I wasn't gonna break his promise if I wasn't allowed to break the one I made to you" he explained, also on the verge of tears. He'd hated knowing so much and being forced to conceal it, but both Spike and Buffy had convinced him it was for the best.

"Buffy, Andrew's right" Dawn told her sister who turned her glaring eyes to the girl, "It must have been awful for him stuck in the middle, not allowed to tell you Spike was alive, and not allowed to tell Spike that he was a Daddy"

The Slayer sighed, closing her eyes and letting tears run down her face.

"I know it's not your fault" she directed at Andrew, "I just...I could've been with him, even if it wasn't for long, I could've..." she broke down into noisy sobs, her sentence lost into an oblivion as she sat down on the couch with her baby in her arms.

Dawn was about to go to her when there was a knock on the door. She moved to answer it and found a familiar man on the other side.

"Oh, hi" she said awkwardly, glancing into the room at her sister and then back at the dark haired, olive skinned, undeniably gorgeous figure of their neighbour David Di Luigi. He had a crush on Buffy from the day he moved in two months ago. It had taken just seven weeks of that time before he'd asked her out, despite the fact he knew she had two small babies. Last Saturday they'd gone out for a meal, and had both made the shocking discovery that the other knew all about the demon world, slayers, vampire and all. What Davy was yet to discover was the truth about the father of Buffy's children.

"Dawn, I came to take Buffy out for lunch, is she ready?" he asked in all innocence, not knowing what was occurring inside.

"Davy, I don't know if now is a good time" the younger girl tried to close the door on him without appearing too rude, "I can get her to call you, if you want"

"Sure" he agreed though he was frowning hard, "It's nothing...demonic, is it?" he asked in a whisper in case anyone in the hallway might here.

"Not really" she said after a moments consideration, "We just got some bad news about a...friend" she explained vaguely, "but we'll be okay, I promise"

The young man nodded slowly as he backed off down the hall.

"You call me if Buffy or you need anything, okay?" he told her and Dawn smiled and nodded as she watched him go and closed the door behind him. He really was such a nice guy and pretty much perfect for Buffy, that had been obvious from the first moment they'd met. Now Dawn knew things had changed, all the old memories of Spike had been dragged back to the surface, preventing Buffy from seeing the future as clearly as she had before.

It made Dawn feel strange to think her vampiric older brother figure had been alive or at least undead in the world for a year without ever telling them. Still, both she and Andrew had been sworn to secrecy about Ellie and Chloe. Only the three of them and Giles knew they existed. Willow and Xander had gone off on their own before Buffy had realised she was pregnant and though they always kept in touch, Buffy had never been able to bring herself to tell them. It seemed wrong by letter or phone, it should be face to face.

Dawn sighed as she headed back to the living room and found her sister still crying, the babies back in their chairs sleeping, and Andrew sitting at the table with a tear stained face and a crumpled piece of paper in his hand.

Location : Unknown  
Time : Unknown

"So, I'm getting a gift and so is Blue here, right?" Spike asked, glancing between the kind face of Tara and the area above his head where the voice he heard seemed to emanate from, "What I'm not gettin' is why us? S'not that I don't appreciate being popped back into the world every time I think I've found bloody peace!" he yelled, sarcasm in every word.

"You try our patience, vampire!" the booming voice told him harshly, "We wonder why we chose you as we did"

"What are we chosen for?" Illyria was keen to know, "Why are we not dead as our allies are, as Wesley is"

"Because I had served my purpose" said a familiar English voice as a further two figure appeared out of the misty void and stood beside Tara. Wesley and Fred were holding hands and looked exactly as two people in love should, they were practically glowing.

"Bloody hell" Spike backed up a step in surprise as he glanced between Fred and Illyria. The two women seemed slightly taken back also, "How are you here, when she's in you?" the vampire frowned in confusion.

"What you see is just a form, Spike" the Texan told him, "Illyria took my body but my soul was set free and sent here...to wait" she added, glancing at Wesley who smiled and squeezed her hand.

"You planned this" the vampire realised, almost angrily, throwing his head back and yelling at the one he couldn't see, "_You_ planned this!" he accused, "You killed them and they didn't deserve it!" he told the faceless voice who simply laughed in reponse.

"Foolish creature" it said amusedly and Spike felt his blood start to boil.

"Spike, calm down" Tara urged, "It's not as simple as that. The Powers That Be had plans that were damaged and altered by forces out of their control. They had to make changes to accommodate what had become unbalanced"

"You're talking in riddles, pet" Spike complained, putting his hand to his head as if it hurt to try and wrap his mind round what's she was saying. His companion, however, had less of an issue in grasping the premise.

"Your friends death and my rising was foretold, your Powers That Be had it planned so that Angel's plot would succeed" she said, still staring at her fallen ally and the girl who's body she had possessed.

"We bear you no ill will, Illyria" Wesley told her, "You never intended to harm Fred, we all know that, and despite your having power beyond that of myself and those around you, you chose the right path and fought at our side. You sacrificed your life for a cause because ultimately you knew it was the correct thing to do"

"This is true" she conceded with a nod, "but I still cannot comprehend why I am here? What is this place?"

"In simple terms, it's the door to the afterlife" Fred told her, seemingly unphased by her doppelganger, "but it's not time for either of you to walk through right now"

"I was soddin' right" Spike cursed, "You're gonna shove me back into existence again!" he complained, "How many more bloody times!"

"If the vampire wishes to reject the offer we lay before him" the now decidedly angry voice told him in full earth-shattering booming volume, "We do not have to give him back his humanity at all!"

"Well, maybe I don't...!" Spike began to yell back before he realised something "Hey wait a minute" he said more calmly, "My humanity?"

"You chose to fight on the side of good, not just to make up for the bad things you did, or to make others respect you, but because it was right" Tara reminded him, "You sought out a way to be a better man and against all odds it's what you became"

"Very nice of you to say so, luv" he smirked slightly at the girl, "but you seriously telling me I'm getting the real boy prophecy and dear old Angel's just a big pile of dust?" he could scarce believe it were true.

"Your prophecy was flawed" the voice of the Powers was back again, "Too much interference and too many translations. The essence of it was this. The demon who fought for his soul, and on the side of good, shall avert the apocalypse and then regain his humanity" here he paused before adding, "but maintain his skill and strength"

"Huh" was all Spike could find to say and Ilyria looked equally puzzled.

"If the white haired one is to be human with power, what am I to be? Why do you toy with me, I should be dead" she complained, almost sounding as if she would rather be at peace than stand for all this.

"Illyria" the voice boomed, "You did great wrong when you tried to rule a world that was not your own" it told her, "but your re-animation was of our doing, for a purpose far greater"

"You had to be there for Wes and Spike" Fred told her double, "You had to fight with them and the others, and earn the gift the Powers wanted you to have"

"Which is what? Humanity?" she scoffed, "I'd rather be dead than accept such an offer"

"It could well be arranged" the angry voice from above proclaimed, before softening, "but your gift is not to be simply human, it would serve no purpose. You must fight alongside your companion. You two must be our new champions to keep the balance between good and the evil that will never truly die"

"And this is why we're here?" Spike quirked an eyebrow, "To be your new playthings now the others have gone?" he checked.

"What is being offered is an honour, Spike" Tara told him, really not wanting to witness another fight between the vampire and the Powers, though it was slightly amusing to her that he was so stubborn and headstrong he was even willing to pick fights with such beings that literally held his life in their non-existent hands.

"Let me get this straight" he said with a shake of his head, "You wanna make me a real boy again but with the added superhero bit, and Blue here's gonna be my partner in crime, stayin' just as she is?"

"Not exactly" Fred interjected, "Though she'll have almost the same amount of power and the same body" those last couple of words were said awkwardly, "she'll be human too, and eventually age and die as you will"

"And then we come back here do we? Join the big tea party in the sky with you lot?" he asked with a tilt of his head. Inside his mind was spinning with what he was being told. The shanshu was even better than he'd thought. Humanity but with power enough to continue fighting the good fight. Illyria with him through it all would be a help, he figured, he wasn't one to fight alone and with all the others gone and Buffy best left as she was...

"One day when your time is done a place with be found for you" the voice answered his question, "but this we do not foresee for many decades"

"Good to know" Spike nodded absently, glancing at Illyria who still looked puzzled.

"Bother you, does it, pet?" he asked her, "Being told how it is by someone mightier?"

"It does not concern me what this...voice says to me" she said nonchalantly, "I promised myself to fight on the side of the good as long as there is breath in this body I possess" she flexed her arms to demonstrate her point, "If they wish to put that breath back, I shall do as I swore to do, at your side if it should be that way"

"I think she means she's up for it" Spike smirked at Tara who stifled a giggle.

"You are capable of so much good, Spike" she told him as she stepped backwards, slowly disappearing into the white as Wesley and Fred did the same, "Go out there and show the world that"

"You too, Illyria" Wes smiled, "Make our passings, and your own existence, worth something real" he told her.

Before either Spike or Illyria could blink the white void grew so brilliant with gold light it almost blinded them. A second later they felt solid ground beneath and they were back in the alley where they had begun, this time at the mouth of it, looking out towards the rest of the world.

Spike took a few moments to get used to the fact he needed to breathe now and the thumping in his chest was quite disconcerting, but in a thrilling way, and he wouldn't change it for the world.

He glanced at Illyria who returned his half a smile. Things were going to be different from here on out but they'd been given a chance to do something good, and at least they didn't have to do it alone.

"So then, pet" Spike sighed, "Just you and me, eh?"

"I believe you are worthy of my company" she told him, condescendingly.

"Praise indeed" he smirked, "Let's go then, see what the world's got to offer it's gifted subjects" he said as they walked out of the alley and into their new lives.

_To Be Continued..._

**A/N2: This story is going to be Spuffy but it will take a while to get to that, I'm hoping you don't all get bored on the way. If you like this please do review and let me know, it makes me want to write faster!**


	3. Chapter 3

A/N : The first two chapters of this were a lot of intro. Now we flash forward to...well, the future actually, although it's actually the present for this story, if that makes sense at all, and I hope it does. The real plot kicks off in this chapter, although it may be a little while before the Spuffyness gets going, I'm hoping you'll stick with this because I promise it really should be worth it in the end.

Thanx so much to the reviewers of the previous chapter; Katydid1388, Brunettepet, ness345, Moonjava, Carol, PltnmDancer, demonica mills, spk, Moluvsnumber17, Mony19, spikespet2002, ktmb20, and EMBER91. As always you guys rock.

Oh, one last thing, I can hardly believe it but I've been writing and posting fanfic here for exactly 3 years today! I feel I've come quite a long way in that time and that my writing is now much better than it was back then. Extra thanx to everyone who takes the time to read and review my efforts!

Enough rambling, chapter now...  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 3

Location : Columbus, Ohio, USA  
Time : 22nd October 2005, 23:31

"Lyri?" Spike yawned as he came out of the bedroom and found her sitting at the kitchen table with her head in her hands, "You alright, pet?"

"I shall be" she nodded gently so as not to disturb her head that ached profusely.

"'Nother vision was it?" her companion asked, crouching down by her chair to see her face, and she nodded slowly once again. Something that had failed to be mentioned when the pair visited the holding place to the afterlife was that in order to be the Powers new champions, Illyria must withstand terribly painful visions of those in need of help. She endured them quite well, and the pain was no worse now than it had been on the first occasion, that was one blessing at least

"Bloody selfish, if you ask me" Spike complained, "Powers that bleedin' Be waking you up in the middle of the bloody night with their picture shows"

Illyria smiled at that, something she'd only learnt to do these past eighteen months in Spike's company. He amused her, and she liked him a great deal, though nothing romantic had ever happened between them.

"It was not the 'picture show' that awoke me" she quoted, "That came after...it was you that disturbed my sleep, you and your dreams"

Spike looked oddly at her and then away at the tiled floor when her gaze was too intense to handle. They both knew what it meant, he'd been dreaming about Buffy again. He usually remembered when he had, though not every time. Still, Illyria almost always knew, if not from the fact he called the Slayer's name in his sleep, then from his lack of words in the morning.

"You dream of her so often" Illyria commented, trying to catch his eye but he refused to look at her, "and yet you speak of her so little"

"S'complicated" Spike said, standing up again moving away from her, "And it's not like I never mention her, just last week when we took on those demons that were trying to re-open the Hellmouth in Cleveland..." he started, all defensive, but Illyria interrupted.

"You told the tale of a fight you had at her side" she reminded him, "a recreation of events similar to those we found ourselves in...but you never talk of Buffy, of what you feel for her" she pointed out and Spike kept his back to her as he searched the kitchen cupboards for something, though he didn't know what.

"Er, so, what was your vision of, luv?" the ex-vampire asked her and she slammed her hand on the table in a moment of frustration.

"Do not change the subject" she demanded, immediately regretting making such a noise as her head throbbed considerably. She winced and put her hand to her head once again, sipping at the glass of water before her, "You spend time teaching me" she continued more calmly, "of feelings and what it is to love and hate, to care and to endure grief and guilt. Still, when Buffy Summers is mentioned you cannot wait to be rid of her name from conversation"

Spike closed the cupboard door and leant on the counter top. It was true of course, everything Illyria had just said was perfectly true. There was no way to conceal anything from the woman, since he spent practically every waking moment in her company and they even slept in the same room much of the time, as they moved through hotels and boarding houses and one room between them was all they could afford.

"Why are you talking about this now?" he asked her so softly she almost didn't hear him, "Why after all these months do we have to have the big talk about Buffy" he sighed, knowing his avoidance was fruitless now Lyri had latched onto the topic. Sometimes she was like a dog with a bone.

"I think you should tell me everything about your Buffy Summers" the woman with the blue streaked hair told him as he came to sit on the chair opposite her, "because I believe hers was the face I saw in my vision"

Location : Rome, Italy  
Time : 23rd October 2005, 00:15

"Happy?" Buffy smiled as she kissed the man who held her in his arms.

"I have never been happier, my love" he told her, holding her close as fireworks went off overhead, lighting up the night sky in a myriad of rainbow colours. Tonight was a very special celebration for David di Luigi's birthday, and it truly was the best birthday he ever remembered having.

He'd known from the first moment he laid eyes on Buffy Summers that she was the one for him. The Slayer had not been quite as taken by him at first but as she forced herself to move on with her life (Dawn and Andrew helped with that) she found she loved to spend time with him and looked forward to every date and meeting.

He adored Eloise and Chloe and was just as happy to spend time with the family as Buffy alone. Days out in the park or wandering around the market were their pleasure on sunny days, and romantic dinners by candlelight were shared in the evenings as either Dawn and Andrew, or Davy's parents who lived just down the street, sat with the twins.

Yesterday, since it was now past midnight, had been his twenty-seventh birthday but also the day he had become officially engaged to his girlfriend. Buffy had cried when he produced a ring and got down on one knee during his birthday celebration that was huge due to so many family members and friends living nearby. She accepted his offer and he declared his love for her as he slid the diamond ring onto her finger.

That was six hours ago now and the day was over, but their lives together were just beginning. In spite of herself though, Buffy couldn't help but ask the question that came to mind.

"Davy, you are sure about this aren't you?" she said uncertainly, showing him the ring on her finger, "I mean, I love you, you know I do, and we get along great and you're great with the kids and everything but...marriage, it's like, a huge deal"

"Buffy" he smiled, "I know why you're doing this" he told her. Having heard many tales from both herself and Dawn about her less than great history with men, Davy was far from oblivious as to why she might be cautious entering such a serious situation as marriage with him, "I also know that I've never loved anyone the way I love you, and I'm thrilled to have Ellie and Chloe as part of the package" he assured her, "If it's you that's not sure then..."

"No" she silenced him with shake of her head and a finger on his lips, "No, I'm sure" she promised him, "I love you" she said with a smile, before kissing him again, feeling for the first time in a long time that life could actually work out okay now.

Up above the kissing couple, Dawn leant over on the balcony and watched the display of affection. She was so thrilled for her sister, it was just perfect having her be so happy and Davy was such a nice guy, Dawn just couldn't find fault with him. That worried her for a while. She was convinced he had to be some kind of demon or there was a spell on him or something, but no. Davy was just your average half-Italian, half-English guy, with an ever expanding knowledge of all things demony.

As it turned out, his mother had been Watcher to an Italian Slayer, called in late 1977. Luisa Vincenzi had only survived a few months and so the young lady Watcher's visit to the South European country was short but none the less enjoyable as she entered into a relationship with one Marco di Luigi.

She realised when she arrived back in England that she was carrying his child and decided in a moment of madness to give up her career and run back to Italy, in the hope that Marco would still want to be with her when she told him the truth about her life.

Later that year they were married and their son David Marco di Luigi was born. His parents doted on him and he was their world right into adulthood. They loved that Buffy was soon to be their daughter-in-law and adored her children too. The young couple had never told Davy's parents the true identity of Ellie and Chloe's father since he was certain they would not understand or approve of Buffy's previous partners, but she had told David the truth almost as soon as she'd found out he knew about Slayers, Watchers, and demons.

He wanted to end it then, for the life of him he could not understand how anyone could love a vampire, souled or otherwise, but already his love for Buffy was too strong to be ignored and he accepted her past in order to share her future.

Dawn sighed as she watched the couple kiss under the light of the almost full moon. It was like a fairytale really, and even she had found a little romance of her own. Andrew was sweet and attentive and she'd grown to love him over the time. The two of them, plus Buffy, Davy, Ellie, and Chloe were such a happy little family, though the younger Summers sometimes yearned for the old days.

Sometimes she dreamt of Sunnydale, and their little house on Revello Drive. It was usually Thanksgiving or Christmas, and her Mom would be there, baking pie. Giles would be in the living room reading a book, whilst she watched TV with Xander, Willow, Tara and Anya. Buffy would get back from patrol, and always with Spike when it was in Dawn's dream.

For all the bad he'd done, in the end Dawn found she couldn't hate him like she should. He'd hurt Buffy, violated her trust in such an awful way that Dawn had actually threatened to kill him if he so much as touched her, but afterwards as they shared a house and faced the First together, he became her older brother again, and she loved him. She felt the pain just as her sister did when the amulet he used to save the world dusted him too, and she cried almost just as hard when she read the letter that was received via Andrew, from the vampire himself. He may have died but he'd come back and they never knew. Now he was gone again and this time it was a forever deal.

"People have a tendency to go away" she whispered to herself, recalling words she'd said years ago, "and sometimes I wish..." she stopped short when she realised what she was doing. She always stopped herself from finishing sentences that had that word in them, for fear of who was listening and what might happen.

"You okay, Dawnie?" Andrew asked her as he approached and came to stand beside her.

"Yeah" she smiled across at him, "I was just thinking is all, about Sunnydale...and Spike actually"

"He was one very brave vampyr" he over-pronounced and Dawn couldn't help the giggle that escaped her.

"He was" she agreed in a whisper, moving closer to her boyfriend until he put his arm around her shoulders.

In the bedroom she heard the kids stirring and she sighed. It was okay for her, she had her memories of Spike, what did Ellie and Chloe know of their father?

'Nothing', she thought sadly, 'and they never will'

Location : Columbus, Ohio, USA  
Time : 22nd October 2005, 23:34

"You saw Buffy!" Spike gasped in alarm at the very idea that his precious Slayer might be in trouble. Of course over the past two and half years that he hadn't seen her she'd probably averted a couple of apocalypses that he wasn't aware of, that was her deal after all, but to be told, to be certain she was in danger, it made his all too human heart hammer in his chest til he thought his ribs would break.

"I believe it was her" Illyria nodded once, "she resembles the photograph you always carry" she said, glancing over at him and he nodded absently. He only had one picture of his Slayer these days and he carried it on him always.

It was from her birthday, her last one in Sunnydale. The battle against the First meant almost constant stress and worry for her, but on that day he actually saw her genuinely smile, and thankfully Willow had captured that moment on film. He hadn't even had to ask for a copy of the picture, she'd just given it to him without a word. He always had liked the witch in a funny sort of way.

He reached into the pocket of his jeans (the only thing he was wearing) and took the photo out, staring at it wistfully before handing it to Illyria.

"You sure it was her?" he checked, trying not to panic but unable to help himself. He'd seen some terrible things as a result of his companions visions. If something awful was happening to Buffy...God he couldn't bear the thought of it.

"It was" Illyria nodded, closing her eyes against the pain in her head that still continued, "It is, I see it still when I close my eyes" she told him. It was something she wasn't sure whether she'd learnt to do or just something extra the Powers had let her have lately. Closing her eyes and concentrating brought back still shots of the vision she had most recently endured, though the pain intensified when she tried it.

"What is it? What's wrong with her?" he asked, agitatedly, "A demon? An apocalypse? What!"

Illyria frowned as she opened her eyes. She looked at him strangely as she answered his question.

"An engagement ring"

To Be Continued...


	4. Chapter 4

A/N : I know this isn't the next fic that should be updated in the proper order of updating and everything, but sometimes you just have to go where the inspiration takes you. Thanx so much to the latest reviewers; Moonjava, ness345, Mony19, Brunettepet, demonica mills, and Moluvsnumber17. Hope you like this.  
_(For disclaimer, etc.- see chapter 1)_

Chapter 4

Location : Over the Atlantic Ocean  
Time : 23rd October 2005, 19:26

"Spike, please do cease and desist with your wriggling" Illyria pleaded with him, "You make me wish to do violence upon you!" she told him sternly and the ex-vampire answered her through gritted teeth.

"I am not a child, Illyria, and I'm easily your equal in a fight" he reminded her, "You'd do well to be careful how you speak to me today"

She shook her head as she glanced out of the plane window and then back at her companion.

"You have been impossible ever since I told you of my latest vision" she said with annoyance evident in her tone.

Spike opened his mouth to answer but soon changed his mind. She was right of course, it was one fairly irritating habit that she had. Ever since the words 'vision' and 'Buffy' had been uttered in the same sentence he'd been a mess, and the addition of the words 'engagement ring' had done nothing to help at all. His precious Slayer was getting married? How could she do that? Of course he had no real reason to blame her, she didn't even know he existed nevermind that he was now alive and lacking a demon he once possessed.

When he had appeared in Angel's office from the amulet that had saved Sunnydale and destroyed it at the same time, Spike had wanted to go straight to Buffy's side, a pleasure denied by the amulet that tied him to Wolfram and Hart. By the time he was given the gift of solidity, he had begun to realise it would be to everyone's benefit if he left the Slayer well alone.

Things had only changed when he was facing his final battle, alongside Angel, Gunn, Wes and Illyria. He couldn't leave the world a second time without seeking forgiveness for the lie he'd told her. All those promises he'd made about always watching her back, and yet he had stayed away when she might have needed him.

When the gift of life had been imparted to himself and Illyria upon their death, Spike had decided it was definitely too late for he and Buffy to be together. She had a chance of a normal life now, whilst he had been Chosen for great things, as she had been before. He couldn't drag her back into a world of demons and darkness, besides she was dating the Immortal at the time, and she believed he was dead...again.

It had taken hours of soul-searching and one rather large fight between himself and Illyria before he'd even agreed to track down Buffy again. His first reaction had been to save her from what ever Big Bad might be gunning for his girl, but when the harm that befell her was told to be an engagement ring, it only brought home to Spike how much life had moved on.

Buffy had a boyfriend, a fiancé so it would seem. It was over two years since he'd last stood before her and she'd told him it was him she loved before he left the world in a blaze of glory. Now she was marrying some other git who may or may not be evil. Spike was thankful at least that his Slayer no longer spent her time with the Immortal. There was no way in the world he would be offering to marry her, so there must be another. He should have expected it really, she was a beautiful and incredible woman, what man could resist? And she needed a man in her life, always needed someone to lean on however much she tried to deny it to everyone else.

"Spike!" Illyria repeated, as she poked him in the side, finally managing to drag him from his thoughts.

"What? What's up?" he asked, trying to shake all previous thought from his head and concentrate on the here and now.

"Your eyes had glazed over in a most disconcerting way" Lyri told him, "I wish you to talk to me if you will, I am finding the sensation caused by this altitude quite concerns me" she shifted uncomfortably in her seat and Spike smiled a little. She really did hate to admit that anything scared her, and yet there were a few parts of modern technology that bothered her intensely, planes being one of them.

"No need to worry, luv" he told her, taking hold of her hand in a comforting gesture, "Few hours and it'll all be over"

"Do not presume that I am afraid" she snapped half-heartedly, knowing inside that she was petrified but refusing to show even Spike to whom she head become greatly attached over time.

"Never would think such a thing of you, Lyri" he tried not to smirk but found it almost impossible, "Let's talk about other things" he suggested as they began to do just that, though in the back of his mind Buffy was still there, haunting him as she always did. Heaven only knew what she would say when she realised he was alive.

Location : Rome, Italy  
Time : 24th October 2005, 08:29

"Earth to Buffy! Hey, Buffy!" Dawn tried waving her hand in front of her sisters face and finally gained the Slayer's attention.

"Sorry, Dawnie" she said, turning to look at her, "I guess I kinda zoned out"

"Zoned out?" Dawn giggled, "You were hypnotised by that rock on your finger" she smiled.

"I guess I was" Buffy smiled back, glancing at the engagement ring on her hand once more, "I just can't believe it's mine y'know, that someone loves me so much that they want to be with me forever...how is that even possible?"

"But you love him that way too right" Dawn asked worriedly. Her sister was always weird about the love, and though it was kind of understandable when her dating bio was considered, Dawn really hoped that Buffy wasn't about to break Davy's heart and her own by ending things with him.

"Of course I love him, Dawnie" Buffy told her, though maybe not as firmly as she should have. When she was with him she was so sure of his feelings and her own, but when they were apart, it was so strange but she started to worry about it, "Anyway, right now I have to get the kids ready, drop them off, and head over to the cafe" she realised as she checked her watch.

Even Slayers had to have something to live on and in the absence of a Doublemeat Palace in Rome (one thing everyone could be thankful for) Buffy had managed to get herself a few shifts at La Bella Cafe, just a couple of streets from the apartment.

The owner there had told her she reminded him so much of his own daughter who had sadly passed away and though Buffy could see no resemblance at all between herself and the picture of Gianni's daughter Maria that hung on the wall, she was grateful for his kindness. He let her work around her kids needs and her own occasional need for slayage, despite the fact he did not know about the second one. He accepted every lame excuse she gave him, though she was fairly certain he always knew when she lied.

Ellie and Chloe were looked after by the di Luigi's when Buffy worked school hours and Dawn couldn't do it. The brunette herself actually found that she liked her education in this new country, and life in general was a lot brighter than it had once been.

Despite all this there were nights when both young women would cry. After dreams of Sunnydale and their friends who had been taken from them or chose to go their separate ways. So much loss, it was impossible to forget and though it hurt to remember sometimes, neither would ever part with their memories. It was all they had left of some people.

Location : Rome, Italy  
Time : 24th October 2005, 20:29

"Well, I've been in worse dives" Spike decided as he dumped his bag on the bed of the hotel room. It was the cheapest place for miles and even then it was fairly pricey compared to some places they'd frequented in America.

Illyria seemed hypnotised by every new thing she saw, the different styled buildings and overly friendly people. America had been her only modern home and Europe seemed to be unsettling her.

"You alright, pet?" he checked as she looked around uncertainly.

"I shall be perfectly fine" she nodded once, "I must simply adjust to my surroundings" she told him, putting her own bag down on her side of the bed and sitting down beside it, "I strangely assumed that the world would be the same from every angle" she told him, "and yet it is not so as it once was"

"Don't fret, luv" Spike told her, though in truth he was grateful to have her to worry about, it gave him less time to fixate on certain Slayers and their engagement rings, "This lot might talk a bit different and live in different shaped houses but they're still humans, like you and me"

It still felt strange to call himself a human and even more so to refer to Illyria that way. He was certain she was less fond of hearing it than he was, but she bore it well enough and he'd found his time spent with her to be reasonably pleasant. She was his kind of woman, wouldn't take bull from anyone and yet needed him at the same time. The world was still a foreign place to her, whilst he'd had over a century to learn it's ways and had grown along with the changes that it went through.

"I am uncomfortable" Illyria admitted, "I think some violence would be of use to me"

"Can't argue with that, pet" Spike smirked, glad to let the whole Buffy issue go for a while longer. A part of him was so desperate to see her again it physically hurt, whilst another was just petrified of the reaction he might receive.

As the pair got up and headed for the door, Illyria smirked in a frighteningly similar way to Spike.

"I know you wish to delay our finding of your Buffy Summers" she told him, "I am not so foolish as you would have me be"

"Shut your gob, you" he snapped half-heartedly, surpressing a smile. She really had gotten to know him too well these past months.

* * *

"Hey Dawnie, are you and Andrew okay watching the kids for me tonight?" Buffy asked her sister as she pulled on her jacket.

"Sure, no problem" Dawn nodded, "Where are you going?" she frowned a little at her sister's outfit - definitely not something one would wear for a date with the fiancé. Less frilly, more killy.

"You're gonna think I'm crazy" Buffy winced, "I'm going on patrol" she said at length and Dawn shook her head.

"Not so weird" she shrugged, "but, well, you haven't done that since, well not for months and...are their even vampires in Rome?" she asked.

"Evil is everywhere, Dawnie, you know that" the Slayer reminded her as she put her foot up on the chair beside her and fastened a sheathed knife to her leg, before rolling the leg of her pants back down over it. She put a couple of stakes in the inside pockets of her jacket and pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

"Well, er, I was gonna say have fun" Dawn giggled, "Sounds kinda silly though"

"I just need a little mindless violence" Buffy told her with a shrug, "I dunno why suddenly now, I just need to go be the Slayer and do what I do best, y'know?"

"Sure" her sister nodded, giving her a hug, "Just be careful, okay?"

"I promise" Buffy smiled before she kissed both Ellie and Chloe and left the apartment.

The nearest cemetery was just a few streets away and it didn't take Buffy long to get there. It felt wonderfully familiar to walk amongst the tombstones and hone her senses to find anything evil lurking in the shadows. It didn't take long till she felt something, that strange tingling sensation that meant only one thing - vampire. She found the spot in seconds, a grave with two arms scrambling for freedom. As a head and chest followed Buffy grabbed her stake and lunged at the fanged creature. Senor Gianfranco Portellini (Deceased) was nothing but dust before his legs had even cleared the dirt he'd been put to rest in, but still the sensation remained, like someone was watching her. It was feint and different to the normal, but it was familiar, so much so that Buffy felt sick when she realised why. There were only two people's presence that she could pick out without actually seeing them. One was Angel and the other was...

"Spike" she whispered, half a statement, half a question. Though she knew it was madness, he'd been gone for over a year now, it didn't stop her heart skipping a beat in anticipation of seeing him step out of the darkness and into the moonlight that engulfed herself.

A silent tear crept down her cheek as the feeling of his closeness went away and she rationalised that she was just being ridiculous. She'd gotten too nostalgic, out in this graveyard, slaying like she used to. Plus her head had been so full of Spike, ever since Davy had proposed. As wrong as it was she often compared them and their love for her. She hated herself for it but she just couldn't help it. Spike was the father of her children after all, however crazy that was...and he would never know.

With a determined look, a large sniff, and a shake of her head, Buffy straightened and headed out of the cemetery. She had a real life now, a fairly normal life with two normal but beautiful children, a normal guy that loved her, her sister and a younger brother figure she loved too. Spike was gone, she had to accept it before she drove herself insane.

* * *

Illyria decapitated the vampire that she'd been fighting and watched as it turned to so much ash before her eyes.

"Vampires are so fragile" she observed with that strange tilt of her head, "I wonder how they live as they do, so many centuries when death could come so easily" she became aware that Spike was not paying any attention to her at all and she turned to see him staring off in the opposite direction.

Following his eye-line, she saw the back of a blonde-haired woman headed out of the cemetery gates.

"Buffy?" she asked softly, but all Spike could do was stare.

To Be Continued...


	5. Chapter 5

A/N : Thanx so much to the latest reviewers; pltnmdancer, Moonjava, ness345, demonica mills, Brunettepet, Mony19, Moluvsnumber17, and mm. Sorry this chapter is a little bit short, and later than I planned too - I haven't been feeling too well the last couple of days. Hope the story does not disappoint. Oh, extra note for mm, Illyria now dyes the blue streaks into her hair, her eyes are still bright blue, but she has normal human skin and wears normal clothes too._  
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 5

Location : Rome, Italy  
Time : 24th October 2005, 21:14

"If she has gone in that direction surely it is in our interest as well as hers to follow" Illyria insisted, craning her neck to see where Buffy had gone as she followed Spike in the opposite direction.

"No, I can't, not now" he said with a shake of his head as he strode across the cemetery.

Illyria caught his arm and spun him round to face her.

"This terrifies you" she realised, "This situation, meeting Buffy Summers once again, you are ridiculously afraid" she stated, somewhat stunned by her realisation. Spike was never bothered by anything. Come what may he was strong and resilient, he let the troubles of the world wash over him like rain. She respected that behaviour and often found herself thanking the Powers for putting them back on Earth together. She found his company most satisfactory, but she was a little worried about his sudden change of personality.

"M'not afraid of anything" Spike was quick to tell her, "Silly bint, you should know better"

"You only resort to this name calling with me when you are losing an argument" she observed, "You know that I am right and yet you deny it"

"Oh yeah, cos you tell the bloody truth all the time!" the ex-vampire shot back, volume rising and arms gesturing emphatically, "All that bleedin' rot on the plane about not being scared, you were soddin' petrified and you know it!"

"This matter is no concern of yours" she yelled angrily, "But your running from the Slayer concerns me, it is interfering with our mission"

"Stuff the bleedin' mission!" he said getting in her face, "Stuff bloody Rome, and stuff you too for good measure!" he said nastily before turning to leave.

At that very moment Illyria sunk to her knees, intense pain radiating from her head and down through her body. Her fingers went to her temples and she groaned in distress, making Spike turn back, his anger dispersing when he saw the agony she appeared to be in.

"Illyria?" he said, kneeling down in front of her and trying to prevent her from damaging herself as she writhed in pain, "Lyri, pet, can you hear me?" he asked her urgently but it seemed she either did not want to or was unable to give a response. Desperately, Spike held her by the shoulders, shaking her slightly and saying her name over and over. Eventually she seemed to see him clearly.

"Spike?" she said hoarsely, her eyes flickering open and closed as she looked up at him at last. She briefly saw him nod his answer, before she fell unconscious into his arms.

* * *

"Hey Buff" Dawn smiled from her position on the couch, Andrew's arm around her shoulders as they pretended to be watching TV. Up until a few moments ago they were far more interested in each other than anything else but as soon as they heard the Slayer's key in the front door they made every attempt to look innocent.

"You have fun slaying?" Andrew asked the blonde as she closed the door behind her and removed her jacket.

"Yeah, sure, great fun" she nodded absently, not really looking at them, "I'm just gonna check on the kids..." her voice trailed away as she disappeared down the hall to the bedroom and Dawn frowned. It looked as if her sister had been crying but she couldn't understand why that would be.

"I'll be right back" she told Andrew as she got to her feet and followed Buffy to Ellie and Chloe's room. She found her sitting between the two cribs, in tears.

"Buffy, what's wrong?" she asked from the door, moving to her sister's side when Buffy only cried harder in response to the question. Dawn hugged her tight and waited til the tears subsided.

"I don't know what's the matter with me" Buffy sniffed a few moments later, "You must think I'm so crazy"

"I don't know about crazy" Dawn shook her head, "but you're acting a little strange" she pointed out, "The sudden slayage, the random tearyness...it's since Davy proposed isn't it?" she realised, "You changed your mind, didn't you?"

"No, no I haven't Dawnie, I swear" Buffy told her adamantly, "I love Davy, I do" she said just as firmly, before glancing at her sleeping daughters, one and then the other.

"It's Spike, isn't it?" Dawn realised with a sigh, "You miss him"

Buffy nodded sadly as silent tears ran down her cheeks once again.

"It all could've been so perfect" she said, voice shaking, "I finally realised just how much I loved him, and...we could have had a decent relationship at last and a family..." she trailed off as emotion overtook her. Dawn felt terribly for her and pulled her back into a hug in an attempt to comfort her.

"I know it's tough" she said gently, "I mean, I miss him too but life could still be good Buffy" she told her, and her sister sniffed loudly, trying to regain some composure.

"Dawn, I thought he was there" she admitted, "When I was patrolling I felt him...What if Spike's not dead?" she said with new hope. She continued her theory even when Dawn sadly shook her head.

"I mean, he came back before. I came back three times now, and Angel came back from Hell that time, and..."

"Buffy" Dawn looked pained as she silenced her sisters ramblings, "He's gone" she said firmly, "It's not what you want to hear, I know that, but it's for real. He's really gone this time. If he wasn't he'd be here, he wouldn't stay away, not after the last time"

"I know" the Slayer admitted with a sad nod, as she attempted to wipe away her tears, "but I wish I didn't Dawnie, and the only person that could ever make me feel better about all this...is the one person I won't ever see again" she bawled like a baby as Dawn held her and rocked her gently.

Andrew watched silently from the door, having heard some of the sisters' conversation. He sometimes hated himself for having kept his silence about Spike being back before. Now it really was too late.

* * *

Spike was glad to find a route of quiet roads and back alleys that he could carry the unconscious Illyria back to the hotel by. When the girl at the front desk gave him a strange look he just hefted the girl higher in his arms and declared 'some of these women, they think they're so tough, but they just can't hold their drink'

The former-vampire was glad to reach the safety of the elevator, where no-one could see them anymore. He had hoped that Illyria would've woken up before now but she was still out cold, though thankfully still breathing evenly. Manoeuvring into the room and depositing her on the bed was a little tricky and even when he'd managed it he had no idea what to do next. Thankfully, whilst he was stood there by the bed, contemplating calling an ambulance or possibly just throwing cold water in the girls' face, she began to move of her own accord.

"No, no, no" she repeated as she writhed about, eyes tight shut and seemingly unaware of the world.

"Illyria, luv, wake up" Spike urged her as he sat down beside her and tried to still her wild movements. She screamed as she fought against him, something quite uncharacteristic of the former God.

"Snap out of it, pet" Spike shook her harder, seriously concerned about her condition and just hoping if he could get her eyes open and some lucidity about her it'd be easier for them to work out what the bloody hell was happening.

"My babies" Ilyria's arm shot out, reaching desperately for something or someone who wasn't there, "Oh God, my children" she screamed and cried real tears as Spike fought to calm her.

"I'm sorry luv" he yelled above her noise, "You left me no choice" he told her, raising his hand and striking her across the face. In that moment she was still, her eyes snapped open and she looked up at Spike with some alarm.

"Illyria?" he checked, unsure as yet whether it was best to let go of her or keep his grip.

"I...I had a vision" she said shakily, eyes darting around the room as she tried to take in her surroundings. Spike let go of her arms and let out a sigh of relief as he realised despite her previous distress his companion was back in the real word now.

"Must've been some cinematic extravaganza, pet" he said, "You were out cold for twenty minutes, and making a right bloody row just before you came to"

Illyria observed him with troubled eyes, head tilted in that thoughtful manner of hers. She righted herself and shook her head slowly.

"The vision was recent" she told Spike, "Just a moment ago. I do not know what caused the pain and darkness that came upon me in the graveyard" she admitted and the ex-vampire was a little concerned by that. Still, first of all they must concentrate on the latest vision Illyria had received. Must have been one hell of an intense experience to have her screaming and wailing as she had.

"This vision, luv, the one you got before you woke up..." Spike began gently as the girl on the bed blinked strangely as if trying to reset her vision.

"It was so strange" she told him slowly, "I was there, and I was not myself..." she realised, putting a hand to her head that still ached somewhat from the whole experience.

"I'll get you some painkillers" her friend said as he rose from the bed and headed for the door, "then you can tell me who you were in this vision, and what you saw"

"I do not wish to remember" she told his back, screwing her eyes tight shut and pressing her fingers to her temples, "I wish to see no more, feel these things no more..." her volume increased as she tried to push the vision from her mind, finding it almost impossible.

Spike turned in the doorway and looked over at her, not at all pleased about how she was made to suffer by this so-called gift the Powers had given her.

"You were a mother" he said from the door, "and your kids were in trouble...in the vision" he guessed and proven right when Illyria lifted her face to look at him and slowly nodded so as not to disturb her aching head too much.

Without a word Spike turned way, fetched the aspirin he'd promised her and a glass of water. The girl pushed her blue streaked hair from her face, downed the pills and lay back a little on the bed, eyes closed and willing the pain away.

"Tell me what you can about these kids" Spike said gently, "I'll go and see what I can do and you stay here, get some rest"

"We fight as a team" she told him sternly, eyes open in a second and glaring at him, "This you know. It was our agreement with the Powers"

"Stuff the bleedin' Powers" Spike told her firmly, "You are going to stay here until you're noggin stops banging like a drum, you got that?" he told her like a father scolding a child.

"There are times when I thank the Powers for making me spend my new given life with you" Illyria told him with a sly smile, "But at other times I remember that you are a very irritating being"

"S'all part of my appeal, luv" Spike smirked as he got to his feet, "Now, these kids, tell me about them. What do they look like, what are their names?"

"There were two. They were female, with hair the colour of honey, and they were very small" she recounted, "Something or someone was taking them from me...her...their mother" she amended, getting a little confused.

"Any hint on a name or address?" Spike pressed, knowing that whilst Italians were known for having dark hair and eyes, there could still be no end of blonde kids running around town, when tourists and the such like were thrown into the mix.

"I...I don't know" Illyria concentrated and replayed the still shots of her vision as she sometimes needed too. Along with the intense pain in her head came the awful feelings she had felt too, as she herself played the part of a woman having her babies snatched from her grasp. Uncharacteristically, tears came to her eyes and she tried to get rid of them as they made tracks down her cheeks.

"S'alright, pet" Spike felt bad for her, and rubbed her arm affectionately. Having to experience such feelings and that were not her own must be affecting her badly. Even after all these months as a human and those before as a God trapped in a human shell, there were so many of her own emotions that Illyria didn't understand. Whilst Spike did his best to help her, he wasn't exactly qualified and didn't really have the best handle on love and loss himself, though he'd experienced both too strongly, too many times.

"I'll go and take a look around the area, maybe ask the locals a few questions" he told his friend, "You get some rest, I'll be back before you know it"

"Very well" Illyria nodded once, closing her eyes again and letting sleep claim her. She never did what he told her, Spike knew that, but given the state she was in, he was fairly certain that this time she just might.

To Be Continued...


	6. Chapter 6

A/N : Thanx muchly to; Moonjava, funkydevil206, Demonica Mills, Brunettepet, EMBER91, LiLi, and Moluvsnumber17, for the latest reviews. Just to clear up a few points, nobody knows how Buffy and Spike managed to make babies yet, that'll all work itself out later. Buffy never told Andrew not to tell Spike about the kids, because obviously she thought Spike was dead. Andrew was made to promise not to tell anyone about the babies and of course he made the assumption that this included even Spike. Oh, and Buffy is not married, just engaged, to Davy who is an Italian/English guy I made up! Okay, enough rambling, story now!  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 6

Location : Rome, Italy  
Time : 24th October 2005, 23:56

"Grazi" Spike nodded to the man he had just been speaking to as he walked away, "Thanks for bloody nothing" he mumbled under his breath as he stormed off down the street.

Trying to find a mother and two kids in trouble in a city the size of Rome, well it wasn't so much a needle in a haystack as it was a needle in Kansas, especially since the only other clue he had were the kids being female and blonde.

It had been a couple of hours since he'd left the motel now, and not getting any further with his investigation was just making him frustrated. He swung by a graveyard on the way back and was glad to relieve some tension staking a couple of baddies before heading back to Illyria.

She was still lying on the bed when he returned to their room, her eyes were shut but he wasn't certain whether she was asleep or not.

"Lyri, pet?" he said softly, perching on the edge of the bed beside her.

"I am not sleeping" she told him matter-of-factly, opening her eyes, "I could not even if I wished to. I must know of your findings"

"Always about the bloody mission" Spike rolled his eyes, "You have got to get out more, luv" he smirked.

"I live to fight, as the Powers told" she said firmly, "I have no wish for this socialisation you crave or this romantic drivel people invest so much time in"

Spike let the subject go when she looked away and couldn't meet his eyes. She thought of Wesley more often than she'd admit, and he knew why. Though he doubted the others paid enough attention to notice, back in LA before what was supposed to be the final fight, the affection the ex-God had for the ex-Watcher was evident to Spike. Unrequited love was his speciality, and being as he was a step away from Team Angel, never quite one of the gang, he saw things that those in the tight little circle never could. Still as much as she stood against the notion of love and romance, he knew she was now only human and must crave these things like everyone else.

"No news on your vision, pet" he told the girl, regaining her attention, "Reckon it might be an idea to grab some shut-eye and start over tomorrow" he suggested, "What with the flying, the jet-lag and all, I feel like I could sleep for a bloody week"

"I too feel the need to rest for longer" Illyria agreed, "So we shall sleep and wake again at first light to find both the mother who cries for her children, and your Slayer"

Spike had got up from the bed and turned to walk away but stopped abruptly at the mention of Buffy.

"Ah, yes" Illyria smirked, "You thought I had forgotten that, I see"

"Bollocks" Spike muttered as he walked around the bed, keeping his back to the woman as he threw his coat over the chair, followed by his shirt. He sat down on the bed to remove his boots then got under he covers still in his T-shirt and jeans.

Illyria knew she'd upset him, though she would not apologise. By the morning it would all be forgotten and they would be friends again. In the meantime she pulled off the leather jacket she wore and kicked off her shoes before joining her companion beneath the covers where his back was still to her.

"Goodnight William" she said with a sly smile, knowing even in anger he could not ignore her.

"'Night, pet" he answered as he turned out the light.

Location : Rome, Italy  
Time : 25th October 2005, 05:45

Buffy couldn't sleep. She hadn't slept all night in fact and as she lie in her bed, the light of the sun beginning to filter in through the blind, she knew she might as well give up anyway. Thoughts that filled her head mostly starred a certain bleached blond vampire that she knew if she were honest she loved as much if not more now than she did back in the Hellmouth when she'd first said it.

So much had happened. She'd bore his children though he never knew it. He'd died, not once but twice, a record she had set herself years before, one more thing they had in common. He'd tried to make her see she was a creature of darkness like him, and whilst he had not been wholly wrong (the essence of the demon had been used to activate the first Slayer) she now realised they were both creatures of light. That last night in the Hellmouth when the bright light from the amulet had shone through his being, it was as if a door had been opened in her heart and she knew more clearly than she ever had before that she was in love with this man.

He hadn't believed her and she'd cried when she'd realsied it was her own fault, knocking him back so many times had led him to believe he was not worthy of the love she now felt. More tears were shed over his death then, though he lived on inside of Buffy's body as well as her heart. Two children, his and hers, that would never know their father and how wonderful he was. Of course it ought to be impossible and to this day Giles had never cracked the mystery of how a vampire had fathered the twins Buffy had given birth too, but given the distinct lack of contact with any other male in all the time the battle against the First was forged, they knew it had to be true, indeed looking at the little girls now, their blonde hair might indicate Buffy but there was simply no mistaking that their blue eyes came from Daddy.

A lone tear crept down the Slayer's cheek as she thought about her old lover. She dreamt of him so often, she was almost glad sleep hadn't claimed her, for waking up from such vivid events only made her more upset. Some nights she'd swear she felt him there beside her, the dream would be so intense as they made sweet love for hours. She'd been mortified on one occasion to find that in her half-concious, dreaming state she'd used Davy to physically perform the fantasy in her head. She never had told him why she couldn't look at him for a couple of days afterwards, she wondered if he'd figured it out on his own.

Other nights the dreams were different, she'd be out with the kids playing in a park. A shadow would fall over the sandbox and when they looked up, there he'd be, her precious William bathed in the light of the midday sun and smiling at her, making her feel, with just one look, like no-one else ever could.

Wiping tears from her cheeks, Buffy got herself out of bed and took a deep breath before she started her day. She had just managed to shower and dress when Andrew called through the door to her.

"Buffy, Davy's here" he told her, "He wants to take you and the kids to breakfast"

"Be right there" came the Slayers response though she sat back down on her bed as she said it. She felt so guilty, spending much of her time thinking of Spike when she was now engaged to marry another man, a man that loved her very much. He said he understood, the couple of times when she'd admitted her deep thoughts to be about the father of her children, but she knew better than to believe he was totally okay with it. How could anyone be comfortable knowing the person they planned on marrying spent large amounts of their time wishing they were with someone else, someone they could never have.

* * *

"Thought you needed some bloody kip?" Spike said to Illyria when he awoke to find her standing by the window instead of in the bed beside him.

"It is daylight" she pointed out, not looking at him, "I did inform you I would be waking again by the light of day"

"Yeah" Spike agreed absently, "Guess I forgot quite how literal you can be" he realised as he stretched out his body and swung his legs out of the bed, "No more visions then, luv? Lyri?" he frowned when she didn't answer and walked over to her side, "You okay, pet?" he checked and she turned to face him then.

There was a weird look in her too blue eyes that he couldn't identify and he didn't have time to think before she grabbed his head and pulled him into a kiss.

"Illyria!" he yelled, jumping back several feet like she'd scalded him, and subconsciously wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, "What the soddin' hell is that all about!" he wanted to know, as he tried to figure it out for himself. Illyria tilted her head and observed him.

"I still do not understand" she complained, "I have been watching these humans, the race of which I have been a part for months now" she explained, looking back towards the window when when his gaze was not quite as friendly as it might be, "They meet each other in the streets. They embrace, they join lips as I just did with you...their happiness radiates from them like sunlight..."

She seemed so bitter about it and Spike started to realise what her problem was.

"You want that" he said cautiously, more of a statement than a question, "You want someone to make you feel the way they feel" he moved closer to her, ever wary of what she might do, and followed her gaze down to the street below. A young couple stood in the strada in a passionate embrace, and Illyria was right, you could almost see the love radiating from them like a sunny glow.

"Lyri, pet" Spike sighed, "It's not as simple as grab the nearest bloke and snog his face off" he explained, as they both kept their eyes down at the view, "If that were all it was love wouldn't mean anything"

"All the things you have taught me" she said still looking away, "and all that Wesley tried to teach me before...I will never truly understand this love that humans feel, I think perhaps I was not provided with the ability when I was given this form" she glanced down at her own body and then turned to walk away. Spike felt sorry for her, of course he did, though given the way all his experiences of love had ended up, he was almost jealous of her lack of feeling.

"S'not all it's cracked up to be y'know, pet" he sighed as she moved across the room and sat down on the bed to put her shoes back on, "Love, well yeah, it can be a good thing but...there's a lot of heart-ache goes with it, lot of pain" he recalled all too knowingly.

"There is pain when I do violence" she said matter-of-factly, "Damage is caused and endured, but when the fight is won we are pleased to know it. The thrill of the battle and the winning of it outweighs the suffering we face" she said, turning back to look at him, "Does love not work this way?" she asked, head-tilted, "Is the pain you suffer not worth the reward you receive in gaining that which you crave so badly"

Spike observed her thoughtfully, sparing one final glance for the couple on the street below as he answered her.

"It is" he nodded slowly, "Sometimes, it is"

To Be Continued...


	7. Chapter 7

A/N : Thanx to funkydevil206, Moluvsnumber17, Moonjava, Mony19, Demonica Mills, Hellmouth2, EMBER91, and Brunettepet. You all rock for taking the time to review and say nice things about my story.  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 7

Location : Rome, Italy  
Time : 25th October 2005, 07:45

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Davy asked his fiancee as they walked down the street together, him pushing the stroller with Ellie and Chloe in it.

"Sure, I'm fine" Buffy told him with a forced smile. He didn't look entirely convinced, since she barely looked at him when she said it and her eyes kept glazing over as she drifted off into a daydream.

They reached the cafe where Buffy worked, though not until the afternoon today. They sat at one of the tables outside, and the Slayer pulled the stroller up next to her to keep a close eye on her children.

"Don't take this the wrong way but, it's like you're only half here" Davy said gently, not wanting to upset her, "Is there somewhere else you'd rather be?" he asked, hoping she said no.

"Of course not" she said, looking so sincere that he actually believed that lie.

She loved being with Davy, of course she did. He was going to make a wonderful husband and a great step-father for her kids, but he could never be what she wanted. There was only ever going to be one William 'Spike' Dashwood, and he was gone forever.

Buffy's friend and fellow waitress Sophia came to take their order for breakfast and it was nice to enjoy good food in such pleasant surroundings, with her little girls there with her and a man she loved. She did love him, but as hard as she tried to be _in_ love with him she never felt like she'd quite fallen all the way. Something held her back, and she knew what that something was, just as Dawn knew and probably Andrew too. It didn't help when she looked down at her daughters and straight into two pairs of bright blue eyes that were so familiar.

"We should go" her fiance's voice cut through another hazy daydream and the slightly annoyed look on his face made Buffy feel terribly guilty, "I have to be at work in half an hour" he realised as he checked his watch.

"I should call in at the store on the way home" Buffy told him as she pulled her jacket back on and checked she'd got everything that she'd left home with. Davy put some money on the table and they were about to leave when Sophia came hurrying out of the cafe and called to them.

"Buffy, mia amica buona" she said as she reached them, "the machine for the coffee, it is 'ow you say, in need of the kicking" she told her friend, making Buffy smile at her phrasing. The coffee machine at the cafe was a huge old fashioned thing that once in a while would give up the ghost and require a few sharp hits in the right places to get it going again. The manager had saved a fortune on repairmen since Buffy had started work there.

"Oh, Davy, I should just..." she started and he nodded, knowing what she was going to say.

"You go help them fix it" he told her, "I'll take the kids to the store and meet you there afterwards, okay?"

"Thankyou" she smiled, kissing him briefly before hurrying after Sophia into the cafe. Davy sighed as he watched her go and looked over the back of the stroller at the kids.

"Your mother is an incredible woman" he told the little girls who of course had no real idea of what he was saying to them, "I only wish that your father had been a less incredible man" he added sadly. How is anyone supposed to compete with a dead man?

* * *

"I find I am hungry" Illyria commented as she and Spike got ready to go out, "Perhaps we might find somewhere to eat before we resume our search for both the mother and children from my vision, and your Buffy Summers"

"You always do that" Spike complained, "Always call her 'my' Buffy. You forgetting what you saw in those pictures from the Powers" he asked with a tilt of his head, "She's got a bleedin' engagement ring! May have skipped your mind but it sure as hell hasn't skipped mine" he said, almost angrily as he slammed the drawer of the dresser closed with a thump.

"Your anger in unnecessary" Illyria calmly pointed out to him, "If the Powers That Be have given me a vision of Buffy and her engagement ring, this surely means she is in danger from it. You can have no fear that she has found someone to replace you"

"Nothin' to replace, pet" Spike shook his head sadly, "I was never...that last night before I burned in Sunnyhell, she said she loved me but...I can't let myself believe it"

"It is fruitless talking any further to me of love and associated feelings" his companion told him too sharply as she zipped up her boots, "I cannot give comments or opinions on things I do not understand"

"Doesn't usually stop you" Spike smirked at his own joke, and she gave him a look, desperately trying not to smile as they headed for the door.

When they got down to the street they decided to look for a place where they could eat first and then it was back to asking questions and keeping their eyes open til they found what they were looking for. Rome wasn't exactly a small place and the chance of just running into the people they were looking for was a little remote, still it was always advisable to pay attention to ones surroundings.

They passed by a cafe, though Illyria wanted to stop for food, Spike told her it looked like a pricey place and they weren't exactly flash with the cash of late. She didn't look happy and her stomach growled almost angrily in protest.

"Look, there's a convenience store just up here" her companion gestured up ahead, "We'll go in there and see what they've got on sale, alright?"

"This will do" Illyria nodded once as they continued walking.

As they entered the store, they headed straight for the most identifiable products, and picked out the things with the lowest prices. Spike was standing by the shelving, counting coins into his hand in an attempt to work out how much he dared to spend, whilst Illyria leaned half way into a freezer unit, reaching for heaven only knows what. A man coming the other way was also paying more attention to what he was buying than where he was going and stopped the stroller he was pushing too close to Spike. One of the children playfully kicked her leg, her foot hitting the side of the ex-vampire's leg.

"Hey" he said, turning to yell at what ever was attacking him, only to find two cute little kids giggling at his expression, "Well, not quite what I was expecting" he half-smiled at the kids, one of which was clapping like a crazy thing by now, "You two should learn, s'not nice to go attacking folk like that" he smiled, before he realised something, "Bloody hell" he said under his breath as he took in the picture. Two little blonde girls and some shifty looking bloke pushing their stroller. He didn't look anything like them, not even a little bit. Alarm bells went off in Spike's head just as Illyria pulled herself up from the freezer and glanced over at the children.

"The babies from my vision" she said, confirming her companions thoughts. Without a moments hesitation, Spike stepped forward, grabbed the other man's arm to spin him around and clocked him right across the chin. The children shrieked at the sound of violence and Buffy looked shocked as she appeared in the doorway and saw her fiancé fall.

"Davy!" she yelled, hurrying over to him. She knelt on the floor and was relieved to see he was awake, just a little stunned by the hit.

"What kind of psychopath are you!" she yelled, scrambling to her feet and facing the attacker. When she did so, she felt as if her legs would no longer hold her and she backed up against the nearest shelving unit to hold herself steady.

"Buffy" Spike breathed, almost unable to believe that he was actually her in this moment, standing opposite the woman he had loved for such a long time now. She hadn't changed all that much, maybe slightly more tanned than she once was but other than that it was so obviously still her. Same hair, same eyes, same body, he noted as his eyes travelled down and then up again.

"No" was the first word out of her mouth, "No, no, it's not you, it can't be" she rambled, a frown forming on her face.

"It is me, luv" Spike told her gently, "I know you thought I was dead but, I'm back...again"

Sunlight trickling in from the window illuminated him in a strange glow and tears poured from Buffy's eyes as she launched herself into his arms, hugging him so tight he couldn't breathe, but he didn't care. He held her just as tight, breathing in the scent of her hair, loving the feeling of her in his arms once again. It'd been too long.

Buffy was thinking the same thing as she revelled in the feeling of being held close by the man she loved, but she was forced to pull away slightly when she realised something.

"Your heart..." she said almost whispering as she put her hand to his chest and felt beating beneath her palm. Spike could only nod in response, before Buffy flung herself back into his embrace.

"I believe the dark-haired one is confused" Illyria told them, though neither Spike nor Buffy appeared to hear her. Rolling her eyes, she walked around them and helped Davy up from the floor.

"What...?" he said absently as he allowed Illyria to get him to his feet and he took in the sight of Buffy in another man's arms, the man who'd just hit him!

"Spike hit you" the woman with the blue-streaked hair told him matter-of-factly, "We believed you to be evil of some kind, and we apologise if we were wrong"

"Spike?" he echoed as he watched the scene before him unfold, at the same time feeling his heart break a little.

"God, I've missed you" the bleached blond told the woman in his arms as she pulled back a little to look at him.

"I missed you too" she told him, blinking back further tears, as her fingers reached up and traced every detail of his face, the face she thought she'd never see again outside her dreams, "but, how are you here...and alive?" she frowned suddenly, "You sent me that letter, you were gone..."

"'S a long story, pet" he told her, pushing loose strands of hair from her face and tucking them behind her ear, "but if you've got time I'll tell you it all"

"I do not wish to interrupt" Illyria said loudly to ensure she got their attention, "but there is the small matter of this man and these children to be rectified"

"Davy" Buffy said suddenly, pulling out of Spike's arms and going to her fiancé, as if she'd just remembered he was there.

"I'm okay" he assured her as she winced at the sight of blood on his face, "Seems Spike has a good right swing"

"You hit my fiancé?" she frowned, spinning back to look at the ex-vampire, "Why?"

"This is...your fiancé?" was the only words Spike really took in and Illyria rolled her eyes, realising she was just about the only one here who seemed capable of focusing on anything important.

"Miss Summers" she turned to Buffy, "Do these children belong to you?" she asked and the Slayer glanced between the girl, Spike, and Davy, before her eyes landed on Ellie and Chloe, the latter of which was seconds away from crying.

"Oh, my babies" she said, kneeling down to their level and assuring them that the yelling and the punching was over and everything was okay.

"Er, guess that'd be a yes then" Spike frowned. Seemed Illyria's second vision had been linked to her first. The kids she'd seen, the mother she'd channelled, it'd all been about...

"Buffy" he said aloud, almost exactly at the same time as Davy did.

The two men looked at each other and both felt nauseous. Spike hated to think of his love having moved on in life with this bloke that had presumably blessed her with the twins, whilst Davy knew he could never compete against the supposed love of Buffy's life and the father of her children.

"Er, we should really talk" the Slayer realised, standing up and keeping a firm hold on the handle of the stroller when she felt a little woozy. Nobody was really sure who she was talking to.

"I should be at work" Davy realised suddenly checking his watch. Buffy opened her mouth to say something but he was already gone, despite the fact she called his name behind him right before the door slammed shut.

"I didn't mean to..." Spike gestured vaguely at his own chin, indicating the area in which he'd struck the other man, "We thought he was evil"

"No" Buffy shook her head a smile playing on her lips, "This time I actually picked a guy that is normal, and in no way evil in either the past or present sense"

"That's...good, I s'pose" Spike said awkwardly looking mostly at his boots. Illyria was stunned at how ridiculous he could be, so much the weak little boy. She hadn't realised she was smirking til he accused her of it.

"S'pose you think this is bloody funny!" he shouted, waving an arm at her, "You don't understand love so of course it's bleedin' hilarious that I..." he stopped when he realised Buffy was still looking at him.

"I do not find your suffering amusing, William" Illyria ground out, "Nor do I find the attention of the whole store at all gratifying" she pointed out to him just how many patrons of the shop were now watching him, "I suggest you and your Buffy Summers go elsewhere and continue to discuss whatever matters you feel the need to" she said, turning on her heal and leaving before either Spike or Buffy could say anything else, though both had noticed how the Slayer was again referred to as belonging to her ex-lover.

Ellie decided she wanted some attention now, and Chloe soon followed suit, both of them slamming their feet around and yelling nonsense words.

"I should get them home" Buffy realised, shaking her head as if to come out of a daze, but soon going straight back into said daze when she caught Spike's eyes.

"You probably should" he answered absently, wondering what she'd do if he grabbed her and kissed her now.

"Come with me?" she asked with a smile, "Dawnie and Andrew are back at the apartment. They're gonna go crazy when they see you're back...you're back" she repeated the last phrase as if it was all just sinking in, that Spike was actually back in the world and better than that he was a real live human.

As Spike stepped forward to walk with her, she put a hand to his arm, pulled him closer and put her lips to his. At first he was to startled to respond, but as soon as his brain caught up with the situation, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close as he fully participated in one brief moment of passion. Both of them were breathing unevenly when they parted, but smiling anyway.

"I'm sorry" Buffy said, looking at her feet, "That wasn't fair, I mean, I have Davy and you have...well, the girl with the blue hair"

"There's nothing like that between me and Illyria" he almost laughed at the suggestion, as he lifted her chin with his finger and made her look at him, "and anyway, you don't ever have to apologise for...that" he smirked.

Next to them the kids were giggling and clapping again and Buffy suddenly came back down to reality with a thump.

"We really should get out of here" she realised, stepping out of Spike's embrace and getting hold of the stroller to turn it around.

Spike followed her out the door, only to have her stop in the street and turn back to face him.

"Tell me again why you hit my fiancé" she frowned.

"Long story, pet" he told her, "but I'll tell you the whole lot if you want to hear"

"Really do" she nodded as they headed for her home.

To Be Continued...


	8. Chapter 8

A/N : Thanx to; Spuffy6, Moonjava, LiLi, Mony19, Brunettepet, funkydevil206, Darrel Doomvomit, ness345, Moluvsnumber17, EMBER91, and velja for the great reviews. Just to clear up some confusion; yes, Davy is a character I made up, there are several in this fic, some that have already appeared, some that'll come in later. Not sure how EMBER91 doesn't know who Andrew is - Tucker's brother, remember? Member of the Troika in Season 6, and hostage at the Summers House in Season 7? I'm sure you were just joking when you said you didn't know him... Here's the new chapter for you all!  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 8

Spike and Buffy arrived at her apartment, having spent the walk back in relative silence. He didn't know where to begin and she wasn't sure where she wanted him to start. It was a small relief when they realised it was just them and the kids at the apartment, a note on the table told them that Andrew had taken Dawn to school already and that he himself had things to do, meaning he probably wouldn't be back for hours.

"That's put the little reunion on hold then" Spike said with a slight smile, "Sort of a relief, your boy Andrew gets a little over the top at the sight of yours truly"

"Dawn will be just the same" Buffy smiled as she parked the kids stroller to one side of the room. They'd both fallen asleep on the way home, she guessed because the last couple of nights they hadn't slept so well. It was a relief if she was honest, to have them silent for a while, she and Spike had a lot to talk about.

"I s'pose Andrew filled in some gaps, after you got my letter" he asked as she turned to look at him.

"He did" she agreed, "I so wish you'd have told me when you came back before"

"I wanted to" Spike told her, "Bloody hell Buffy, you were my only thought when I turned up at Wolfram and Hart. First thing I asked was where you were, if you were safe...but how could I come back to you? I wasn't even corporeal"

"I wouldn't have cared" Buffy was almost in tears just thinking about it, "Spike, did you forget that I loved you?" she said, as a tear escaped down her cheek.

"I didn't know" he told her, taking a step toward her, daring to gently wipe the tear from her face, "I was dying Buffy, burning to a cinder to save the world, you might have just been being nice"

"Me being nice to you?" she gave him a watery smile, "You should've known better"

Spike couldn't answer. He had no response to her little joke, he was too busy reeling from the revelation that the words she'd spoken back then, when she'd told him she loved him, that was all true. The fact she was marrying another man and had bore two children since they'd last been together all just faded away as he came purposefully towards her and put his lips to hers.

It'd been too long, Buffy realised, as she enjoyed the sensations only Spike's kiss could bring. She'd dreamt of this almost every night since Sunnydale fell and now it was happening it was even better than she remembered as his hand slid to her waist and pulled her tight against him, and her arms went up around his neck.

It worried her when he pulled away first, until she realised he needed to breathe. She smiled at the realisation. He was human now, and he was back in her arms, it was all kind of a miracle.

"Still not quite used to the whole having to breathe thing" he admitted, "After more than a century of not needing oxygen, sometimes I tend to forget I need it now"

When he moved to kiss her again it was Buffy that pulled back. Although she could quite happily have let this progress, let him make love to her the way only he could, she knew it wasn't the right way to go.

"We came back here to talk, Spike" she reminded him, "And as great as this is...there's things we should talk about" she told him, pulling out of his embrace. She glanced briefly at the children and he followed her eye-line, feeling suddenly sick. Those kids were real, even if the Slayer's fiancé turned out to be dispatchable, her daughters were for keeps.

"Where do you want me to start, pet?" he asked as they sat down on the couch together.

"From the night you sent me the letter?" she suggested. She'd read the thing so many times, she pretty much knew it by heart, and with Andrew filling in the gaps she knew more or less all she needed to know about Spike's time with Angel and the gang in LA. What she needed to know was how and why he was back from the grave again.

"Right then" Spike sighed, knowing he must again recount events that were painful, but doing it anyway, because it was Buffy who was asking.

* * *

"Wow" was all Buffy could say when Spike finished his narrative of the past year and more. He'd died again, making an uneven three times in his existence. That even beat her own record of twice she realised with a half-smile. Here he was again though, alive and kicking, and sitting right here looking at her and waiting for some kind of response with actual words in it, but she had no idea what to say.

Brought back from the dead because the Powers needed a champion, given an ex-God in a human body as a companion, who must suffer painful visions of those in need. What Spike had neglected to explain to her was how he'd needed up in Rome all of a sudden. She opened her mouth to ask when Eloise woke up and screamed for attention.

"Oh sweetie" Buffy sighed, getting up and going over to her daughters, knowing that if she couldn't get Ellie quiet pretty fast soon Chloe would wake and start howling too, "Hey, what's the matter?" she asked, rocking the little girl in her arms, "You just wake up all grumpy, huh?"

In moments the child quietened down, putting her thumb in her mouth and enjoying being held close by her mother.

"You're a natural" Spike said from behind her and she blushed a little at the compliment. She'd kind have been thrown into the deep end with the whole mother deal. Playing Mom to Dawnie was a lot different to bringing up two babies but her sister and Andrew had helped a lot, and Davy was great.

"What's with the look?" Spike asked as he caught her frowning. Buffy sighed.

"I was just thinking, about Davy" she admitted, "He's helped a lot with the kids"

"Bloody right and proper too" the bleached blond agreed as he walked over to her, "Back in my day it wasn't heard of but, in this day and age, a bloke should be there for his kids. S'only right. Father's duty and all that" his voice disappeared as he realised he was getting rambley.

Buffy opened her mouth to speak before closing it fast. She just realised what she should have thought of before. Spike hadn't figured out that the girls were his, he thought they were Davy's kids! Obviously math was not his strong point, since there was no way she could have kids this age with him but then they were small for their age being both twins and prematurely born.

"They got names?" Spike asked, bringing her out of her thoughtful days. He was crouched down by the stroller studying the stirring child within and Buffy thought she was going to cry as Chloe reached out her hand, grabbing onto Spike's finger and giggling when he played her game.

"That's Chloe" Buffy told him, swallowing hard, "And this is Eloise, we call her Ellie"

"Chloe and Ellie, huh?" he smiled as the little girls both stared at him with big innocent eyes, "They're perfect. Look just like you, Slayer"

"Hey Buffy" a voice called through the door, breaking whatever family type moment had been developing, "My afternoon class was cancelled so I..." Dawn stopped talking when Spike stood up and she caught sight of him.

"Oh my God" she gasped, hand covering her mouth as the books she'd held slid from her arms, "Oh my God, Spike" she squealed, running at him and nearly knocking him over and she wrapped her arms around him and cried into his chest.

"Hello, Bit" he said huskily, hugging her back. God he'd missed her, almost as much as he'd missed Buffy. She was his little sister, his special Little Bit.

"How?" was all the girl could say when she finally pulled away, her face tear-stained, her voice strangled with emotion.

"Long story, pet" he admitted, "but I promise, sometime I'll tell it to you... Bugger me, Nibblet, can't believe it's you" he smiled as he took in the sight of her, "Gonna have to get a new name for you though, not such a Little Bit anymore" he realised, "Proper woman now, ain't you?"

Dawn shook her head, more tears escaping from her eyes.

"No" she choked out, "No, I always want to be your Little Bit" she told him, hugging him again.

Buffy looked on, both joy and jealously in her heart. She so wanted Spike to hold her like that again, she wanted everything to be as perfect as Dawn made it seem. Perfect, like the dreams she had both asleep and awake, but this was real life and she had a very real fiancé less than a mile away, working to save money for a wedding they'd already started to talk about.

"...but I knew you'd come back, you always come back" Dawn was rambling away still when Buffy zoned back into the scene around her, "I just can't believe you're alive this time and you're here"

"Dawnie, let Spike breathe" her sister told her when she refused to stop hugging him too tight, "Like you said, he's alive now. Oxygen is kind of an issue"

Spike gave her a look that reminded her of a moment just a couple of hours ago when his lack of oxygen had been her fault, and he hadn't minded at all.

"Buffy?" Dawn looked at her sister with a frown, "Why aren't you...? I mean, it's Spike" she pressed. She couldn't understand why Buffy wasn't jumping for joy at the prospect of having her old lover back. They could be a family now, like she'd dreamt for so long, like they both had, and yet far from looking thrilled at the idea, the blonde looked close to tears, and not the good kind.

"Dawnie, are you and Andrew going out tonight?" she checked and a smile crept on her sisters face.

"You want us to? So you can be alone with...?"

"Davy, yes" she interrupted, "I, I need to talk to him, explain if I can"

Though she was answering Dawn she was mostly talking to Spike. She glanced at him to make sure he understood but soon looked away again, unable to bear it. His eyes shone with love for her, just like they always had, but again she bore witness to the pain in those deep blue pools. Too many times she'd hurt him before, to the point where even when she confessed love for him he didn't think he was worthy, he didn't believe.

"Er, I should go" Spike said suddenly, heading for the door. Dawn looked pained as she followed him.

"You can't, you can't leave again" she told him desperately. Spike smiled, putting a hand to her face.

"Not going far, Bit" he promised her, "but I reckon I've shaken up yours and your sisters world enough for one day" he told her, "'Sides, Lyri'll be tearing the place apart without me for company" he smirked, and even Buffy had to smile at that.

"Do go too far" she told him softly, "I'm not done with you yet" she managed another slight smile which he returned right before he left.

"Buffy, why didn't you just tell him!" Dawn yelled as soon as the door closed, "You've been dreaming about him for months, I know you still love him, and Ellie and Chloe are his kids. He wouldn't have just walked out of here if you'd told him all that!" she shouted, quite angry by now, until she realised how upset Buffy really was. When she turned from putting Ellie back in the stroller, tears were streaming down her face and her body convulsed with great heaving sobs.

"Oh, Buffy, I didn't mean..." Dawn felt instantly guilty as she crossed the room and hugged her bawling sister, "Ssh, it's okay" she told her, rubbing her back as she cried all over her. The shock and other mixed emotions had finally caught up without he Slayer and it was showing itself in a flood of salt-water.

"He's back, Dawn" she choked out, "He's back, and I don't even know where to start" she said between sobs, "I've been dreaming about it and now...I keep thinking about Davy and everything that's happened...Dawn, I have no idea what to do"

To Be Continued...


	9. Chapter 9

A/N : Thanx to; demonica mills, ness345, funkydevil206, EMBER91, Mony19, LiLi, Brunettepet, Moluvsnumber17, and maigain, for the reviews. Of course Buffy should have just told Spike she loved him and that the kids were his, but as Brunettepet so rightly said 'where would the drama be without misunderstandings and miscommunication?', and oh boy ther's some drama still to come! In the meantime, here's the next chapter...  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 9

"Illyria?" Spike called as came into the room. He found her pacing up and down, glancing once in a while out of the window.

"You were gone quite some time" she said when she finally stopped and looked at him, "I assume you have spoken to your Buffy Summers about my visions"

"Oh bugger" Spike complained, sitting down heavily on the edge of the bed, "Never even entered my head" he admitted and he knew that wouldn't go own too well with the woman behind him.

"You spoke nothing of the danger she might face?" Illyria asked quite angrily and she stalked around the bed and stood in front of him, "Are you out of your senses!" she demanded to know. Spike spoke through gritted teeth to save from fighting with his companion.

"I had other things on my mind" he ground out, glancing up at her angry and bemused expression, "Really, pet, you weren't kidding when you said you have no idea about love... Seeing Buffy was like, I can't even tell you" he sighed, anger disapating at the thought of his Slayer and tears welling up behind his eyes instead. His reunion with her and Dawn had been everything to him, to see them looking so well and being so happy, and yet it hurt him greatly to know they'd moved on with their lives.

"She's got kids, Lyri" he forced out, staring at a blank spot across the room, "She's got some git she's gonna marry and a pair of kids by him... and here I am again about to screw up everything for her" he cursed himself as he got up and kicked the wall with some force, cracking the plaster. Illyria grabbed his arm and pulled him back before he did anymore damage.

"If her welfare concerned you so, you would have mentioned to her the danger she might face" the ex-god snapped, "Those children of which you hold feelings of jealously may be snatched away from Buffy Summers, and it is us she will blame for not forewarning her of the event"

"S'not like she can't fight back" Spike shrugged her hand from his arm, "Slayer's quite capable of kicking the ass of anything that comes near her family. Believe me, luv, I should know"

"My visions are not wrong" she said narrowing her eyes at the back of his head as he stood by the window and looked out, "This you know as well as I myself know it"

"Yeah, I know" Spike conceded at length, expelling all the air from his body in one long sigh, "Just wish I knew what to do for the best"

"I believe we must begin with a warning to Miss Summers over the safety of her children" his friend told him, "After any danger has been averted, then you will discuss your romantic feelings for one another" she reasoned.

"Got an answer for everything, don't you, pet?" he smirked as he turned to find her at his side.

"For most things" she agreed with a slight smile, "Yes, I believe I do"

"Question for you then" Spike said turning back to the view, "You think Buffy still loves me like she says she did before?"

When Illyria did not answer he looked back at her as she tilted her head.

"This is something that no-one but your Slayer herself may answer" she told him, "I believe you have beaten me, William" she smirked slightly before walking back across the room and out the door, leaving Spike alone by the window.

The mid-afternoon sun shone high in the sky, the same sun he'd seen in America and the same one Buffy had no doubt watched rise and set many a time here in Italy this past year and more. Wherever they were in the world they watched the same sun and moon, rise and fall as they seemed to do. Him, and Buffy, and all the Scoobies scattered round the globe.

It was so strange to think of days gone by in Sunnydale, living in basements and crypts, sarcastic remarks shared with Harris and watching the little witches grin across the table at each other, whilst ex-demon girl counted her cash and Rupert polished his glasses almost to sand. Then there was Buffy and Dawn, more like family to him than anyone ever could be.

It was such a familiar day-dream that Spike became lost in, as wonderful as it was now to be alive and know that Buffy had loved him then even if not now, sometimes he longed to go back to those days in good old Sunnyhell. Not all the memories were good, but little scenes, bits and pieces of days and nights, research sessions, feeling like part of their team. He'd been grateful for any attention Buffy would give him, and proud to be one of those chosen as a trusted protector for Dawn.

Spike closed his eyes and pushed the memories away. Things were very different now, but one thing remained the same. He loved Buffy more than anything else in the world, and come hell or high water he was determined not to let her down again. Even if she said she didn't love him anymore, and chose to stay with her fiancé, the supposed father of her children, he would make sure they were safe and well when he left Rome. He couldn't live in a world where he knew his Slayer was in pain, that fact hadn't changed in more than five years.

* * *

When David arrived home he found a message on his machine from Buffy, asking him to come over as soon as he could because she needed to talk to him. He played the message many times, trying to figure out from her tone of voice and use of words whether the result of this talk would be good or bad.

Knowing Spike was alive and in the very same town did not exactly fill Davy with confidence, but at least he was up against a man now, flesh and bone. Fighting the perfect memory of a dead man was an impossible task for anyone, at least now he had something real to compete with but the same fact could be an argument for badness too. Spike was Buffy's dream guy, in a very literal sense Davy knew, as he'd often caught her mumbling about him in her sleep. It killed him to hear her words of affection for her former-love, and yet he couldn't blame her, couldn't even blame Spike since he no longer existed and his time with Buffy had not over-lapped his own at all. Now the vampire was back, only not that demon he once was but human.

All Davy could hope was that Spike was over Buffy or that perhaps she would find the ex-vampire to be much more flawed than she remembered. It was perfectly possibly to build up a picture in your mind, a fantasy version of a person that was beyond the realms of reality. The pictures in Buffy's mind of her beloved Spike may well be just like this, over-beautified, over-rated. Nobody was perfect after all.

After more than an hour of to-ing and fro-ing, Davy finally left the apartment and headed over to Buffy's, hoping against hope that she would tell him Spike was gone and wouldn't be coming back, that it was still him she loved and him she wanted to marry. He hoped, but he didn't truly believe it was possible.

"Davy" she greeted him as she opened the door and hugged him. He held her tightly to him, wondering how many more times he would be allowed to get this close.

A moment later that were sitting on the couch and she looked down at her hands that twitched nervously in her lap.

"Buffy" he said softly, putting his hand on hers to still their movement, "You wanted to talk, and yet you're silent" he pointed out.

"I'm sorry" she sniffed, tears coming to her eyes that she fought to keep back. She was apologising for so many things, so many thoughts she felt guilty for having, the two mind-blowing kisses she'd shared with Spike, and a whole heap of other things she couldn't begin to explain.

"I'm certain you have nothing to be sorry for" her fiancé told her kindly, only making it harder for her to be strong. Buffy swallowed hard and began to say what she needed to.

"Davy, things are more complicated now" she said glancing up to meet his eyes just briefly before she had to look away again, "I love you, you know I do but... but I can't ignore what I still feel for Spike"

"You still love him" it was a statement not a question when David spoke. He knew the story of the Slayers love affair with the vampire too well to doubt her affection.

"I do" she admitted, "and I know it hurts you to hear that but, I can't help it... and I think it's better that you know the truth"

"So, you and me" Davy said huskily, "We are over, yes?" he almost choked on the words and Buffy felt just terrible about the whole situation.

A small part of her wished Spike had never come back, at least that way she'd never have had to hurt this wonderful man who sat beside her now, who'd been nothing but good to her from day one. The larger part of Buffy knew though that Spike coming back into her life was the best thing ever and that she wouldn't change this situation for all the world.

"I don't..." she began, only to stop again and re-think her sentence several times, "Davy, I... I don't know where we go from here, I only wish I did" she told him, "I know that I care about you so much, I love you I really do, but I also love Spike. I have to think of the kids in all this too..."

"Don't you realise I'm thinking of them too?" David said almost angry that she would think he was being selfish in this matter, "I love you Buffy but I love Ellie and Chloe almost just as much. I've treated them like my own for so long now..."

"But they're not yours" Buffy reminded him tearfully, "I used to wish they were sometimes but they're not and maybe that's for the best, I don't know"

"I don't know either, Buffy" Davy sighed, "I don't know how long I can wait around for you to make a decision between me and Spike and what you want to do with your life"

"I understand" she nodded with a quiver in her voice and a single tear creeping down her cheek, "I guess you want this back?" she said softly, taking hold of the ring on her left hand with the fingers of her right. Davy stopped her as she made to pull the large diamond from her finger.

"No, no" he told her, "Not yet, not until..." he stopped and sighed before continuing, "Make your decision, and then we see about the ring" he told her.

"Thank you" Buffy whispered, leaning into him, "For everything, for being so understanding, and not hating me for being confused"

"Buffy, my darling" he sighed, his hand cupping her cheek, "I could never find it in me to hate you, I love you too much"

He put his lips to hers then in one bitter-sweet moment, knowing his chances of anything more than a couple of stolen kisses was remote from here. Even this was interrupted by a rapping on the door and Buffy wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed to have their moment interrupted. She stood and moved to the door quickly, before any further noise was made and woke the kids that slept soundly in the next room.

"Hello Buffy" said the man on the other side as soon as the Slayer opened her door.

"Giles" she cried, throwing herself into his arms and finding such comfort in his embrace. He was as good as Daddy to her, and she so needed him right now. Everything in her life was becoming so confused and she could always rely on him for good council. Sure, they'd had their disagreements, especially where Spike was concerned, but right now she just needed to know she wasn't alone in all this.

"I'm so glad you're here" she mumbled against his jacket, "I so need a real friend right now" she admitted.

"How about two friends?" asked a voice that Buffy could hardly believe she was hearing, put as she pulled away from her Watcher she saw it was true.

"Xander?" she gasped, hardly able to take in that he was really here as he stepped out from behind Giles and opened his arms to her.

"Got a hug for the Xand-man, Little Miss Slay-Mom?" he smiled as she went into his embrace. He'd clearly gone to visit Giles and it seemed he'd filled him in about the kids. Buffy wanted very much to know why her father-figure would break her confidence in this way, but she knew he had to have a good reason for such an act. In any case, right now it was just so great to have two of her favourite guys in the whole world standing on her doorstep. It took her mind off two others, her feelings for whom were confusing her to no end.

To Be Continued...


	10. Chapter 10

A/N : Thanx for tall the wicked-cool reviews; Brunettpet, PltnmDancer, funkydevil206, maigain, demonica mills, Hellmouth2, EMBER91, urbanstonerrock, and Moluvsnumber17. This chapter is where the main plot kicks in - here's hoping you like it!  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 10

After some convincing, Spike had agreed to take Illyria with him to see Buffy. It would be easier for his companion to explain about the visions, since Spike himself became easily distracted around his Slayer. Illyria had been right of course, as she so often was. He should have told her before about the danger she might be in, but one look at her and he was completely defeated, and when they kissed he lost the capacity for all rational thought.

"Sometimes I wonder about fate" the woman beside him said suddenly, "The Powers That Be as you call them put us back here on Earth as mortals to do their bidding. My visions lead us to danger which we then overt for the good of the human race and the world at large" she said thoughtfully.

"What's your point, pet?" Spike asked her with a look. At least getting philosophical with Blue took his mind off Buffy for five minutes.

"My visions have brought us here, to help your Buffy Summers" she continued, "Surely it confirms that your destiny lies with her?" she said with that strange tilt of her head.

"Nice little assumption" Spike smirked, "but one thing I learnt over the past century or so is these Powers have a bleedin' dodgy sense of humour, especially where a certain Slayer and yours truly is concerned" he told her as they arrived outside the building where Buffy lived, "Point I'm making, luv, is that I never assume anything anymore, not where me and her are concerned" he said as he opened the door for her like a gentleman.

"Do have a little faith in yourself, William" Illyria told him with a look as she passed by him to go through the door, "If nothing else, your physical form is not at all displeasing to the female eye" she smirked as he sometimes did and he laughed lightly at her words, immensely grateful for the sense of humour she had developed over time.

"Gotta say, luv" he said as he followed her into the building, "Not too shabby yourself y'know"

"I shall have to tell Buffy that you think so" she teased him, but when he didn't repond she wondered if she'd gone a joke too far with that comment. She glanced at him as they ascended the stairs and he gave her a small smile to prove he wasn't mad at her, still he didn't feel like joking anymore.

* * *

"Davy these are my good friends Giles and Xander" Buffy introduced awkwardly, "Guys this is Davy, my...boyfriend" she said deliberately putting her hands behind her back and hiding the engagement ring she still wore. She was going to have to explain about that and Spike's return and so much more, as well as find out what the surprise visit was all about, but none of that was too easy with Davy hanging around.

"I will leave you to catch up with our friends" he said with a nod before heading for the door. Buffy felt bad about how sad he looked, but until she figured out what exactly she was feeling and what she wanted to do with her life, she couldn't do anything to help him.

"Did we walk in on something?" Xander asked as the Slayer stared after one of two men she loved dearly, "Cos I'm getting vibes of awkwardness" he noted.

"It's kinda complicated" Buffy admitted with a sigh, "I guess I should start from the beginning, huh?"

"It may be an idea if we start from our beginning first" Giles suggested, "I'm afraid something may be amiss"

"Amiss?" Buffy smiled slightly at that, "Boy can we ever tell that you've been back in England a while"

Giles smiled too, so glad to be back at his Slayer's side. He'd missed her a great deal. She was so much more than a job to him, she was family, the daughter he so wished he could've had for real.

"So what's the what?" she asked, glad to have something to take her mind off Spike and Davy and that whole thing, even if it was a disaster of the apocalypse kind. Still, after taking on the First Evil and winning as she had, there was little else that'd scare her now.

"Kinda starts with this guy I met in Africa" Xander began to explain, taking a seat opposite his friend as Giles pulled up a third chair, "He was this psychic kind of a warlock guy, heavy with the tribal dancing and added mojo"

Buffy nodded along to her friends story as it continued.

"He got all big with the ramblyness right after we got introduced, a whole mass of stuff that made no sense at all, and everybody told me not to pay attention, so I didn't... til the word Slayer came out of his mouth"

"But Xan, that could mean anything" Buffy shook her head, "The world is full of Slayers now, he could've been talking about any of them"

"No, not possible" Xander disagreed, "I thought of that but this guy, Muraguri, he made this big deal about making me listen. When I tried to walk away he put his hand on my arm, pulled me back, made me listen"

"What did he say?" Buffy asked, both puzzled and a little worried now.

"He kinda gave up with the words" Xander told her, sharing a glance with Giles before rolling up his sleeve and showing his forearm to the Slayer. She gasped at the sight of a definite hand-print that looked as if it'd been burnt into his flesh.

"Did it hurt?" she asked stupidly, almost certain from the look of the would that it must've.

"Not as much as the pictures he put in my head" the boy said with an unidentifiable look, "Take it from me, _that_ hurts"

"Xander was given a vision by this man" Giles explained "His name, Muraguri, means Seer and somehow through magicks I believe he was able to show Xander the pictures he saw within his own mind"

"But what...?" Buffy's question was drowned out by someone knocking on the door and she excused herself to answer it. The loud noise had also startled the children and she sighed, knowing she should go to them as well.

"Giles can you get the door" she said changing her mind, "I need to..." she gestured towards the bedroom where the kids had been sleeping soundly til now and her Watcher moved towards the door as she disappeared out of sight.

"Bloody hell!" came a stereo exclamation from the Brit on either side of the front door.

"Spike!" Giles gasped in shock, "What on Earth...?"

"Spike?" Xander echoed as he came to see what the cursing was about, "What? How What?"

"Turnin' into a bit of a reunion, eh?" Spike smirked, "Red here too is she?"

"No, actually, Willow is not here" Giles shook his head, completely bemused as he removed his glasses and polished them on his shirt.

"You know these people?" Illyria asked, eyeing the two men as she and Spike came into the apartment.

"Yeah, old acquaintances, you might say" the ex-vampire nodded, "This is Giles, Slayer's Watcher, and that's Xander he... he's the Whelp" he shrugged not knowing how else to explain.

"Hey!" the brunette protested but not for long as Buffy emerged from the bedroom with Chloe on her hip.

"Wow, it's a real party" she commented, feeling very tired suddenly. Too many people, too many tangled relationships, too much to deal with right now.

Chloe made a bunch of baby noises, the only sound in the now silent room as she reached out to the unfamiliar brunette at her mother's side.

"Hey sweetie, I guess you must be mini-Slayer number one, huh?" he smiled at the little girl, who giggled at the silly voice he used to talk to her.

"You wanna get technical, she's number two" Buffy smiled, "Chloe was born two minutes after Ellie, who is thankfully still asleep right now" she told them, "So voices down, huh guys?"

"We came here for a reason of some importance" Illyria told Buffy, stepping forward, "Do you wish me to explain in front of these people?"

"Er, Illyria, right?" she checked, glad when the other woman nodded "If you wanna take a seat, just give me a minute to get my girl here back to sleep and then you can tell me whatever it is you have to tell me"

"Very well" the girl with the blue streaked hair agreed, taking a seat at the table. Xander and Giles sat back down too and Spike pulled up a fourth chair from by the wall. Buffy disappeared back to the bedroom to settle her daughter, leaving the four unlikely people at the table.

"So, Evil Dead" Xander said to Spike, "A little less dead than we thought, huh?"

"A lot less" the ex-vampire smirked, "Living breathing human just like you now Harris, got myself a little gift from the Buggers That Be"

"The Powers granted you a mortal life?" Giles asked, looking completely astonished.

"Me and the bird here, champions of the people now y'know" he said, tilting his head at Illyria's whose eyes seemed glued to Xander. The boy smiled at her but shifted a little uncomfortably under her intense gaze.

"It's really quite astonishing" Giles commented, as Buffy came back into the room, not minding that there was no longer a seat free for her. She felt she needed to be standing or she might fall asleep, and it seemed everybody had some info they really needed to give to her.

"Okay, let's start with you" she said to Illyria, "You got information for me?"

"Not merely information" the ex-god replied, her gaze finally shifting from Xander to the Slayer, "It is a warning that I bring. I do not know how much Spike has told you, but I am granted visions by the Powers That Be, painful pictures in my mind that lead myself and Spike to those in distress"

"Like Angel used to do?" Buffy checked, "Cordy used to have the visions for him, before they... before" she said sadly, reminded of both their passing.

"Yeah, we pretty much help the helpless" Spike nodded, using the old Angel Investigations slogan. He felt a little more comfortable with other people sitting between him and Buffy right now, no pressure to explain himself or what he was feeling.

"Hold on a second, you have visions?" the Slayer checked, hand gesturing towards Illyria.

"I do" she confirmed.

"And Xander, you got given a vision type thing from that seer guy, whatever his name was?" she asked him.

"Muraguri" he filled in for her, "And yeah, I did"

"Okay, pattern emerging" Buffy nodded, "Now, we come back to Little Miss Bluebird here" she said turning back to Illyria, "I'm guessing you're latest brain picture had something to do with me, right?"

"Indeed" the ex-god nodded, "I have suffered two visions, the first of yourself and an engagement ring" she explained, making Buffy pay attention to the rock on her hand, "The second concerned your children"

"My kids?" Buffy asked, eyes snapping up to meet the bright blue of Illyria's, her voice wavering with fear for her children's safety. When Illyria opened her mouth to explain further, Spike put a hand on her arm and gave her look that begged her to let him explain. As much as he loved his companion, the bleached blond knew Lyri could not always be trusted to be delicate and mindful of her words.

"Didn't know it was you at first, luv" he told the Slayer, "Lyri here felt like she was right there in her own vision, screaming and crying she was as these kids she thought were hers got snatched away"

"Ellie and Chloe?" she asked fearful of hearing anymore but knowing she must.

"Didn't know at first" Spike continued as he got up from his seat and came towards her, hating to see the pain and fear in her eyes, "Was when we saw you and your bloke at the grocery store, Blue clocked the kids and gave me the nod. I took a swing at the fella assuming he was the bastard taking them away from their mother"

"He wasn't" Buffy shook her head, and Spike nodded that he knew that now.

"When you came rushin' in, we realised the mistake, but it was still those kids, your kids, in the vision" he said gently as he could.

"There is one more thing we should tell you" Illyria cut in, making sure she had the Slayer's attention before she continued, "These visions I have are usually of events that are happening at the time, I receive the pictures simultaneously that the event takes place"

"But nobody tried to take the kids away from me" Buffy frowned, "Maybe it's a mistake"

"Can't be, pet" Spike told her, "Wish it was but Lyri's never had a false vision. Granted, she never had a picture show of the future either" he admitted, "but this wasn't just your average vision. Poor girl was blacked out for twenty minutes from the pain before the pictures even kicked in"

"Xander" Buffy said suddenly, looking to her old friend, "You got a vision too, from that guy in Africa" she prompted as all eyes tunned to the boy, "What did you see?"

"He gets visions too now?" Spike frowned looking at Giles for an explanation since he always used to have one and he assumed at least that hadn't changed.

"Not like your friend Illyria here, no" the Watcher told him, "This was one specific sequence, passed into his mind by a warlock in Africa who seemed quite agitated by what he'd seen within his mind"

"And what exactly was that?" Spike wanted to know as did Buffy, and Illyria too.

"Something not pretty" Xander said looking down at the table and then around the assembled group, "Something I'd rather not have seen"

To Be Continued...


	11. Chapter 11

A/N : Thanx so much for the latest reveiws; EMBER91, Brunettepet, Moluvsnumber17, maigain, funkydevil206, darkbuffy08, LiLi, m, Mony19, and KelleyTheSelfToastablePopTart - you guys rock so much!  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 11

Xander winced at the too clear memory he must now impart to the the group that sat around him. The last person he wanted to tell was his best friend, Buffy, since she was the one set to suffer most it seemed, but she needed a chance to defend herself and he was here to make sure she got that chance. He was there to help and watch her back like he'd always done. The young man took a deep breath and began.

"I felt pain, I don't know if that was the force of the vision or if it went with the pictures but, I saw you Buff" he told the Slayer, "and I saw a demon, the big, bad, ugly kind with a gem, like a diamond maybe in it's head" he winced at the memory of the pictures he'd seen, closing the one functional eye he had as if that would stop him seeing that which was within his mind, "Then it changed. There was fire, screaming, a whole bunch of badness all mixed up and going through my head so fast I couldn't take it all in, and then, then Tara"

"Glinda?" Spike checked, "You saw her?"

Xander nodded confirmation and the ex-vampire found everyone's attention had switched to him.

"She was the one that...when me and Lyri here got put back here" he explained "We went to this place, gateway to the afterlife they called it... Tara was there"

"The two events may be connected" Giles suggested but Xander shook his head.

"But I didn't see Spike" he protested, "Or Blue Ranger here, just Buffy and then badness and..."

"And?" the bleached blond prompted when the the boy fell silent.

"And two little blonde girls getting taken from their Slayer-type Mom" he admitted, feeling horrible about it. If he and Illyria had both seen it, the chance was even greater that the event was destined to come to pass, a fact that filled them all with dread.

"No" Buffy said more to herself to anyone else as she walked over to the couch and sank down onto it, "No, no-one is taking my kids from me, no-one"

Her eyes stared blankly at a spot somewhere on the carpet, as shock seemed to take over her being. It seemed she and more importantly Ellie and Chloe were going to be in danger, no matter what she did, and the thought of her babies being harmed frightened her more than anything else in the world.

"When Xander came to me and told me of the vision he'd received we came straight here to warn you, Buffy" Giles told her from across the room, though it didn't really look like she was listening.

"So, now we say what? Research party?" Xander suggested, smiling slightly nervously at Illyria who was still staring at him in her own strange way.

"Reckon your best bet is to start with the demon you saw" Spike pitched in, "Can't say as I ever saw a bugger with a diamond in it's noggin"

"Nor I" Giles admitted, "Perhaps it would be best if Xander and I went to search out some books and so forth that might be of use"

"I'm gonna stay here, for the Slayer" Spike told them, at which the Watcher shook his head.

"I don't know if that would be the best idea..." the Watcher began but Buffy interrupted.

"I want him here" she said abruptly, suddenly seeming lucid again, "There's things I need to say Giles" she conveyed her meaning with her eyes that were filling up with tears. Spike didn't know that Eloise and Chloe were his children yet. Before the real badness went down, Buffy owed him the truth about that.

"Very well" Giles agreed, getting up from his seat, "Myself and Xander will try the local bookstores, libraries, I dare say we'll come up with something useful before long"

"I will come with you" Illyria told them sharply as she too stood from her seat. Spike was a little bemused by that, Lyri wasn't fond of the company of others, 'cept his own of course. Still, she had spent an awful lot of time staring at Xander this past hour or so. Maybe it was him that was attracting her so to speak.

"Er, your assistance will be very welcome, Illyria" Giles said awkwardly, and the blue girl gave him a small smile as they headed for the door. Buffy didn't move at all til the door clicked shut. Then she put her hands to her face and cried.

"Oh, luv" Spike sympathised, rushing to her. He knelt on the floor in front of her and prised her hands from her face, "Sweetheart, don't, please" he begged her, "Tears me up inside to see you cry like that"

"I'm sorry" she sobbed, trying to be strong and finding it impossible. Everything was coming at her at once and from all sides, she didn't know which way to turn next. A demon to fight, a kidnapper to face, her kids to protect and a choice to make between a man she loved and a man she adored.

"Come here, pet" Spike said gently as he moved to sit beside her and pulled her into his arms. She cried for a while longer, sobbing into his chest while he rubbed her back soothingly and whispered to her that it'd all be alright.

It was so strange in some ways, to feel his heart beat and the warmth of his body against hers. She was so used to him having cool skin and there being silence within his chest. One thing hadn't changed though, the feeling inside her when his arms were holding her to him. That contented glow in her heart that slowly spread til it engulfed her entire being, a comfort she only felt when he was there, holding her and loving her.

"I missed you so much" she mumbled against his chest, before realising that without his vampire hearing he might not have heard her, so she pulled away a little and repeated herself as she looked up into his eyes.

She was a mess, poor thing, he noted. Her hair was all in disarray, her make-up smudged, and tears stains marring both her cheeks, but she'd never looked more beautiful to him.

"Missed you too, pet" he told her, gently pushing her hair back from her face and letting his hand linger at her cheek, "You don't know how many times I picked up the phone just to put it right back down again, how many times I saw some blonde bird in the street and chased after her thinking just maybe..." he trailed off, knowing none of it mattered now. He was here now, where he should be, where he ought to have been long ago.

"You're here now" she whispered as if she'd read his mind, as her face got closer to his own.

"I am" she felt those soft words against her own lips right before they kissed, one brief but sweet moment.

"I love you" she told him, before she put her lips back on his for a second time, and on this occasion there was no pulling back, not until a child's scream broke the beautiful silence.

"Go on, pet" Spike told her, "See to your lit'lun Slayer, I'll be right here when you get back"

She nodded as she got up and left him to tend to her kids, both of which were now awake and yelling for her attention. Spike had told both her and himself he was going to stay put, those children were nothing to do with him, but a weird kind of curiosity drove him to follow Buffy as far as the bedroom door and watch as she stood between the two cribs trying to calm her babies back to sleep.

"Come on, kids" she urged them, "Mommy needs some time to figure some stuff out if she's going to keep you safe" she cried just saying it and Spike was in two mind whether to walk in there and help her out or just stay back. The decision was made for him when Buffy whirled around, obviously aware she was being watched and gestured for him to come into the dimly lit room. The kids were still screaming blue murder but for no good reason. It wasn't time for them to be fed and both had dry, clean diapers on.

"You wanna try?" Buffy asked Spike with a slightly amused smile as he looked into one crib and then the other.

"Wouldn't know where to start" he shrugged, feeling all out of place and awkward. Buffy leaned over the crib in front of him, lifting out a screaming Ellie and handing her to him. He seemed to know how to hold a child at least, Buffy didn't want to think about when and how he may have learnt.

"Hey there, Little One" Spike said, bouncing the baby slightly, "What's all the noise about, eh?" he asked her.

The blonde child's sobs died down til she was merely sniffling softly, as she observed the man that held her in his arms. The thumb of her left hand went instantly into her mouth, but she reached out with her right, chubby fingers running over Spike's face. Buffy had Chloe in her arms who was almost quietening down by now, sensing from her sister that there was no need to cry anymore.

Ellie's fingers skimmed over Spike's mouth and he pretended to bite at her fingers. The child shrieked, not with fear, but with great laughter as she repeated the new game. Chloe protested some, deciding she wanted to play to and Buffy held her within reaching distance of the man she had no idea was her Daddy, so she too could play at pretending to get her fingers bitten off!

Buffy watched the game go on for fully five minutes before realising how late it was. Reluctantly she pulled Chloe away and urged Ellie to put her arm down now.

"That's enough now, kids" she told them, "Time you were sleeping"

Both the little girls made negative sounds and gestures as they were lowered into their cribs, but through the general bunch of unrecognisable sounds and shouts, one word from Ellie's mouth was clear.

"Dada!" she cried, reaching her arms up to Spike who wasn't sure what to think or say, "Dada!" she repeated, wanting his attention. Before he could say or do anything, Buffy put herself in her child's line of sight, blocking him from view.

"Not now, sweetie" the Slayer told her, "Sleep now, play later" she said softly.

Spike backed up out of the door and headed back to the living room, running a hand back through his hair as he paced up and down. It felt so strange to him, hearing the word Dada from a child. Of course she was mistaken, just a Little Bit probably calls all blokes she sees Dada, but when she'd said it to him it had felt so.. right. The whole thing, he realised was so insanely comfortable, standing there with one child in his arms and the other held by Buffy as he played a silly game with them and made them giggle. He was deep in thought about it when the bedroom door was quietly closed and Buffy came towards him.

"Spike..." she began but he jumped in and stopped her.

"I'm sorry" he said quickly, "I didn't mean for her to think I was..."

"I know" Buffy nodded, "but Spike, there's something I should tell you, something I probably should've told you before, about Ellie and Chloe's father"

"What is it, pet?" Spike asked worriedly as Buffy looked at every available point in the room that wasn't near him.

"It's you" she said so quietly it was almost inaudible, "Their father... is you" she repeated, to make sure that he heard. The fact his mouth fell open and his eyes went wide seemed to suggest the words had reached his ears. What was as yet uncertain was how he felt abut it.

"I, er... bloody hell" he said, mind whirring at ninety miles an hour, "but your bloke, David or whatever..."

"He's helped me a lot" Buffy explained, "He said he'd raise them as his own since you were... except you weren't and... Spike think about it" she implored him, "Your math cannot be that bad. They'll be two years old on January 29th, born almost a month before they should have been"

"Bugger me" was all Spike could say as he stepped back and sank down onto the couch, "Month early... would've been February, nine months before is May, back in Sunnydale" he muttered almost to himself before finally looking over at Buffy who stood a a couple of feet away, "They're really mine" he said as though it's just sunk in. All the Slayer could do was nod as tears streamed down her cheeks. She couldn't imagine what he must be feeling, to have missed out on so much and never even know, to suddenly realise you have two small children you knew nothing of.

Buffy was somewhat stunned to see the man she considered one of the strongest men she'd over known begin to cry.

"William" she said as she went towards him, kneeling in front of him and reversing the position they'd been in earlier, "I am so sorry" she told him, "I wish I'd've known you were in LA, if I had, I swear I would've told you, I would"

"Not upset, Slayer" he promised her, wiping tears from his cheeks with the back of his hand, smiling crookedly when he looked down at her, "Not really anyway, just in shock I s'pose... I'm a bloody father" he said with a slight chuckle, it just seemed so unbelievable.

"You are" she confirmed, "I'm just so glad you believe me" she told him, as he took her hands in his, "I mean it's so crazy, vampires aren't supposed to be able to... but you did Spike, we did. It can't be anybody else"

"I can't soddin' believe it, Buffy" the bleached blond told her, "I mean I do believe it but... never much saw myself as the father type" he laughed, and even Buffy managed a slight giggle through her mixed tears of guilt, relief and joy to have told him the truth at last.

"Spike, we have to protect them" she said seriously, "These visions that Illyria and Xander had, someone or something is gunning for our kids"

"I know, baby" he said, running his hand over her hair, "but we'll protect them" he promised, "We'll protect our kids" he told her, loving how those words sounded. 'Our kids' he repeated over and over in his mind. As insane a concept as it was, it thrilled Spike beyond words to know it was true.

To Be Continued...


	12. Chapter 12

A/N : Thanx so much to funkydevil206, Brunettepet, EMBER91, Sandra, Mary, and Moluvsnumber17 for the fab reviews. This story actually gets less reviews than my other WIPs but I love writing it and will continue to do so as regularly as I can, so don't anybody start worrying that I'll give up just cos this is the least popular of the four - so not gonna happen!  
_(For disclaimer, etc., - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 12

When Dawn and Andrew arrived home quite late, they found Buffy and Spike curled up on the couch fast asleep. The boy knew of the ex-vampire's return in human form as the Summers' women had told him before. He'd been over-joyed to know one he looked up to so much was back again, but on some level he said he knew he'd be back. Like Tomorrow, he will Never truly Die, he'd said, earning a double eye roll from his girlfriend and her sister, but it was starting to look as if it were true.

"That's so sweet" Dawn smiled as she looked at the couple, asleep in each others arms, "I guess the talk with Davy took a little turn somewhere"

"He's a good guy and all" Andrew told her, "but fate can't be changed. Buffy and Spike are each other's destiny"

"I'm not gonna argue with that" Dawn replied as she watched them a while longer, leaning back into her boyfriends embrace as he wrapped his arms around her.

"The champions deserve their happiness" he sighed, "Though I feel a little sorry for Davy, he is a man of honour"

"He is" Dawn agreed, "but he's not the one for Buffy"

The young couple headed to bed a while later, as the other two slept on where they were. It had been a long and complicated evening, they both needed their rest. Tomorrow things would only be more difficult. Buffy would have to face Davy again at some point, and the gang would have the results of their research to share, meaning a demon to fight and badness to deal with. Still, it would be so much easier now that they were back together, both Buffy and Spike were certain of that fact.

* * *

Spike awoke to a busy scene. As his eyes adjusted to the bright sun that streamed in from the window, he caught sight of Buffy alternating between feeding the kids and running back and forth across the room. Dawn was going around the room with a cordless phone to her ear whilst Andrew darted through the middle with a bowl of cereal in his hand.

"It's unnatural for people to be so bloody active this time of the morning" Spike groaned as he attempted to stretch out the crick in his neck. Since he'd become human he was a lot choosier about the type of surface he slept on, but then he'd have happily rested anywhere if Buffy was at his side as she had been last night.

"You're human now, Spike" Dawn rolled her eyes as she hung up the phone, "You're awake during the day, right?" she smiled.

"The day, yes" he agreed, sitting himself up, "but this is barely sun-up, not day yet"

"Come on, Spike" Andrew said, giving him a playful shove, "Look at the glorious day that awaits you and your beloved"  
Spike looked at him strangely, wondering when the uncomfortable hugging would happen, heartily relieved when it didn't.

"Andrew, 's been a while" he nodded cautiously.

"It's great to have you back, bro" the boy said, apparently thinking he was cool as he offered a hand to Spike. The ex-vampire shook the offered hand, always very wary of being pulled into an embrace. When the boy disappeared into the bedroom a moment later he gave Dawn a questioning look.

"He's with me now" she explained, "No touchy feelies with anyone else"

"You and him, eh?" Spike mulled over the idea with a thoughtful expression.

"What do you say, big brother?" Dawn smiled as she came to sit beside him, "You approve?"

"'S not really for me to say, pet" he told her, putting an arm around her shoulders and hugging her to him, "But if you want my opinion, he's harmless enough I s'pose, but not really good enough for my Little Bit"

"He's a nice guy" Dawn pleaded her boyfriends case, "And he loves me, and I kinda love him too" she admitted.  
"That's all that matters then" Spike told her, "Still, nobody'll ever be good enough for you in my eyes, pet" he smiled, kissing the top of her head.

"I'll second that" Buffy agreed as she came over, and Spike was immediately on his feet, "Hey you"

"Hey yourself, luv" he smiled, "Y'know I'm fairly certain when I fell asleep I had you there with me. When I woke up alone I thought maybe I dreamt you" he said softly, his hand at her cheek.

"Nope, not a dream" she told him, her smile echoing his own, "I kinda wondered the same thing about you though" she admitted.

"Dada!" Ellie called, her arms out-stretched in front of her.

"When did she...?" Dawn said in wonderment as she went over to the child.

"Last night" Buffy grinned, "All this time trying to teach her Mommy, and her first word is about you" she rolled her eyes at Spike who looked stunned.

"That was her first word?" he checked following the two women over to where the kids sat in their high chairs, Ellie still yelling for her father and Chloe reaching for him too by now.

"First and only" Buffy confirmed, "and you're so loving this" she realised with a laugh as Spike looked at the two children with apparent amazement. They were his kids, he was their true father and they knew it too. Without a word he picked Ellie up out of her chair and held her close, feeling even more over-whelmed when she put her little arms around his neck and hugged him tight.

The scene almost had Buffy and Dawn in tears, as Spike held Ellie in one arm and made sure Chloe wasn't left out.

"Hey there, baby" he smiled, stroking her blonde hair, "You know how to say Dada too?"

"Oh no you don't" Buffy shook her head as she came over and lifted Chloe from her seat, "This one's going to learn Mommy first" she said firmly, though she was mostly joking.

"I don't care what she says, luv" Spike told her honestly, "Still getting over the fact that you and me made these Little Bits"

A knock on the door interrupted the family moment but not enough for either Mommy or Dada to bother moving to answer it. It was Dawn that went to see who wanted in and was stunned to find it was Xander.

"Oh my God" she gasped as she hugged him almost too tight, "Xander, what are you doing here!"

"I'm guessing it's still early enough you didn't talk to your sister yet, Dawnster" he smiled, hugging her back before paying attention to the scene in the living room, "Check this out, it's all Happy Families in here"

"Hey Xand" Buffy greeted him, before looking at the child in her arms, "You met Chloe last night, remember?"

"Sure I do" he grinned, tickling the baby's chin til she giggled.

"And this is Eloise" she said looking over at the child Spike held, "Say hello to Uncle Xander, Ellie"

The brunette gave Spike a look before saying 'hi' to the child in his arms.

"Slayer told you they're mine, I s'pose" the bleached blond asked with a tilt of his head.

"Not so much" his old enemy shook his head, "Giles filled me in. I didn't know the Little Buffys existed til a few days ago"

"Xander?" Andrew gasped as he returned from the bedroom, "Every time I turn around there's another person here!" he said, happy about it but also feeling kind of out of the loop, "It's like a Sunnydale gang reunion" he realised suddenly, looking almost tearful. Dawn went over to him and gave him a hug.

"Gotta say I'm kinda confused" she admitted, "Is there something going on that we don't know about?"

"Kinda something going on that we all don't know about, or that we don't know enough about" Xander told her.

"We need to start from the beginning" Buffy realised, taking charge in true Slayer style, "Andrew, Dawn, put the breakfast things away" she told them, "I'll fetch the kids some toys, we can keep an eye on them while we talk"

An hour later they were all around the table and all on the same page with what was happening. Andrew had been right, it was kind of like old times, huddled around a makeshift research table, discussing demons and strategy.

"I left Giles and Illyria under a pile of books" Xander told them, "I can only read for so long before my head starts to pound these days" he admitted, "Not easy when you only got one eye to read with"

"They anywhere close to findin' somethin' useful?" Spike wanted to know, one eye always on the children playing across the room.

"Not when I left" Xander admitted with a shake of his head, "Your friend Illyria seemed more interested in talking to me than doing much research"

"Yeah?" Spike smirked, remembering a previous conversation with his companion about love and what it meant, not to mention how she'd snogged him just to see what it was like. The fact she seemed to have an interest in Xander had not escaped Spike's notice. Now that'd be an interesting situation to watch.

"We need to find this demon" Buffy said, tapping her fingers impatiently on the table, "I need this thing dead before it has the chance to come after my kids"

"We'll find it, Buff, and we'll deal" Xander assured her.

"Always did before, didn't we?" Spike agreed, putting his hand over the Slayer's and stopping the infernal tapping that was driving him round the bend, "Relax, luv, we'll fix this. Powers put me back here to save the innocent. Think those two kids of ours count on that score"

"This demon" Dawn said suddenly, "You said it had a diamond in it's head?" she check, finding it all very odd.

"I dunno if it's a real diamond" Xander told her, "Kinda looked like one though. All clear and shiny and sparkly, maybe it was like it's power source, I dunno"

Spike still held Buffy's left hand in his, thumb stroking across her knuckles. It was as Xander was talking something occurred to him, and his thumb stopped next to the engagement ring the Slayer wore.

"A diamond" he said softly, lifting up Buffy's hand, "Bloody hell"

"So Buffy has a diamond" Andrew shrugged, "She's not the demon"  
"I know that you daft git" Spike rolled his eyes, "but Lyri's other vision was of this ring, that was why we were originally coming here to Rome"

"You think the demon is connected to the ring Davy gave to Buffy?" Dawn frowned.

"Seems like a bloody strange coincidence if they're not, Bit" Spike told her, "Seems to me your man 'Davy' isn't all he seems"

"No" Buffy shook her head, pulling her hand away and looking down at her ring, "No, Davy loves me, he gave me this ring because he wants to marry me. Things might have changed now you're back, Spike, but it doesn't mean he is evil"

"Gotta admit, luv, it's kind of your type" her ex-lover told her, earning a truly nasty look from the Slayer. Seeing the fight that was doubtless about to erupt, Xander muttered something about escapage and a moment later Dawn and Andrew were offering to take the kids out for a walk, maybe go and find Giles and Illyria and see if they'd found anything useful yet.

Spike and Buffy silently glared at each other until the apartment was empty, neither wanting to upset the children or anyone else, but this needed settling now.

"I can't believe you said that to me" Buffy said incredulously, "How could you?"

"Just stating fact, luv" Spike told her as if it were obvious, "Me and Angel were both vampires when you first jumped our bones"

"That's not fair" she snapped, "I loved you, both of you and you loved me"

"Doesn't change the fact you tend to need a little monster in your man" he reminded her, "I mean for God sakes Buffy, you even dated the bloody Immortal!"

"What!" she gasped, "You think I dated... that!" she yelled, gesturing emphatically as she got to her feet, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"I saw you, Slayer" Spike yelled back, getting up also, "Angel too, in that club last year, gyrating like it was going out of style, and your boy Andrew told us how you were staying in nights, all cosy as you please"

"I was playing him, you moron!" Buffy shouted, getting in his face, "I double crossed him so I could kill him"

Spike wasn't sure what to say then. He wasn't often rendered speechless but Buffy was one person who sometimes had the ability to astound him into silence, for a while at least.

"Well, you seemed like you soddin' enjoyed it" he said grumpily and Buffy rolled her eyes.

"It's called acting, Spike" she told him, "I was never interested in dating the Immortal, I was with Davy then"

"Another bleedin' demon apparently" Spike shot back and Buffy made an exasperated sound.

"For the last time, Davy is not a demon!" she yelled, "You think I wouldn't notice if he were? Slayer here, with the spider sense that tingles around demony types, remember?"

"Too easy to fool you, luv" Spike shook his head, "There are spells and trinkets that'll block signals and the like... it cannot be a bloody coincidence that Illyria had a vision about this" he said, grabbing Buffy's hand and showing her the engagement ring on her finger, "and at the same bleedin' time, the Whelp's seein' a demon with a diamond-type stone in his head!"

Buffy pulled her hand free from Spike's grasp and looked down at the ring on her finger with tears in her eyes. She found somebody to love her, a real man that wanted to be with her forever, and it could all too easily turn out to be a lie. Of course it was wonderful that Spike was back, and if the fates were kind perhaps they could have a bright future together, the two of them and the kids. Still it hurt to think this man she'd found, that she would've married if not for her ex-lovers return, might never have cared about her at all.

"I thought he loved me" she said in a small voice, glancing up at Spike and laughing humorlessly, "I should've known better" she cried, looking back at the floor.

"What're you talking about, you silly bint?" the bleached blond sighed, coming towards her and lifting her chin with his fingers, "You still think nobody could love you that much? Even though I'm standing here, wondering how the bloody hell I went without seeing you for so long" he told her, looking into her eyes, "I did wrong Buffy, I know it" he admitted, "I should have told you when I came back, both times actually, and hiding from you wasn't fair, I see it now, but I never stopped loving you, not once, not ever" he swore.

"I missed you so much" Buffy cried as she hugged him, "and I love you. I'm sorry I yelled"  
"Steady on, Slayer" Spike teased her, "Apologising to me now, are you? Must be love"

"It is" she nodded solemnly as she looked up at him, "It really, truly is"

To Be Continued...

A/N2 : Everybody seems to be thinking that just because we have an abundance of happy Spuffyness occurring that it means the fic is almost over - not even close! Much mayhem still to come, with much Spuffy mixed in, plus another pairing that'll occur later which I hope you will all approve of. Okay, so in the meantime you know what you need to do - reviews make the author smile :-)


	13. Chapter 13

A/N : Big thanks to my latest reviewers; Spuffy6, spuffymonica, Ember91, PltnmDancer, Sandra, LiLi, KelleyTheSelfToastablePopTart, funkydevil206, Moluvsnumber17, and Brunettepet. Some of you mentioned Xander and Illyria, and a possible pairing. I never planned to have them like each other when I started this fic but it just seems like a good and plausible idea to me. Here's hoping you agree, and like the way both their storyline and the rest of the fic develops from here.  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see Chapter 1)_

Chapter 13

Buffy was just suggesting that she call Dawn's cell and see where the gang were when there was a knock on the door. She was a little surprised to find Illyria on the other side with a child on each hip.

"We were asked to remove the children from the library" she told Buffy as the blonde took one of the kids from her, "They make noise, even when asked to remain silent" she said passing the second little girl to Spike.

"They get that from their father" Buffy said with a smile.

"Indeed" Illyria agreed, much to Spike's annoyance, "Their transportation is at the bottom of the stairway, I could not find an acceptable way to manoeuvre the contraption up here along with both your children" she explained.

"I'll go get that" Spike offered, putting Chloe down amongst her toys and hurrying out the door.

"He loves you a great deal, you know" Illyria told Buffy who looked a little stunned to hear it from this woman who was mostly a stranger. She'd met Fred just once before and so was not pained by the sight of a new person in the old body of a friend. Still, there was something in her eyes as if she was always looking down at everybody, it just made Buffy uncomfortable, as did the fact this woman had spent more time with Spike the past couple of years than she had.

"I know" she answered at length, "And what about you?" she asked.

"Spike and I do not have these deep and meaningful feelings for each other" Illyria said with an amused look, "To be perfectly honest I felt nothing at all when I kissed him"

Buffy's eyes went wide and she turned to look at Spike as he came in the door.

"What?" he asked, putting the folded up stroller to one side of the room, "What have you said now, Lyri?" he asked his companion, knowing the look on Buffy's face only too well. On so many occasions the blue-haired ex-god blurted out whatever happened to be in her brain at the time without thinking about the feelings of others or anything to at all to be honest. Whenever she did such a thing, the look on peoples faces was always the same.

"I simply told your Buffy Summers that you and I are nothing more than what we appear to be" she explained, "Though we sleep together we are not lovers"

"Uh, pet" he said awkwardly with a pained expression as Buffy glared, "We talked about re-phrasing what's in your head before you say it out loud now didn't we?" he reminded her, turning to look at Buffy.

"Slayer, what she meant was, me and Lyri, have on occasion shared a bed to sleep on" he said making it all as clear as he could, "but sleepin' is all we've ever done, no funny business" he confirmed.

"And the kissing?" the blonde asked flatly, not looking much less furious yet, "I suppose she said that wrong too"

"There wasn't kissing, luv" Spike sighed, "There was one kiss, that Blue here started and I ended, and that meant bugger all to either of us anyway"

"Indeed" Illyria agreed, "Rest assured Buffy, you are welcome to keep the white haired one to yourself"

"Thankyou" Buffy said incredulously, unable to believe this woman had just felt it necessary to give her permission to exist!

Another knock on the door was a welcome interruption or so Spike thought, rolling his eyes at Lyri when she smirked at him.

It was Giles that had arrived at the apartment, explaining as he came in that Xander had gone back to the hotel to get some rest, Dawn had gone to school since she was due for a lecture this afternoon, and Andrew had remained at the library to research.

"I came to fill you in on where everyone was, check everything was okay here" he glanced at Illyria and back again, proving what the others already thought. He was really checking that the woman had gotten the children home safely, and of course she had, "I'm headed back to Andrew now, carry on with the books we found... though I must say I should get some food on the way, it's past lunch time already" Giles realised, cleaning his glasses on his handkerchief as he was prone to do in time of stress and many other times to.

"Dada!" Ellie cried, reaching for him and Buffy handed him the child like it was the most natural thing in the world to do.

"Oh damn" she said, checking her watch, "I'm supposed to be at the cafe for my shift like five minutes ago" she groaned, "I'll have to call and tell them I can't make it"

"Really Buffy, there's no reason for you to lose your job by skipping shifts" Giles told her as she reached for the phone.

"Giles" she said incredulously, "My kids lives are in danger and you're worried about me not wiping tables and serving cups of coffee for loose-change type pay!"

"A sense of normalcy is vital for you and the children, Buffy" the Englishman pointed out, "Besides which if the likely attacker is close by, possibly watching you, it may be best if they are unaware that you know of their impending assault"

"Watcher's right, luv" Spike told her, putting Ellie down on the carpet with her sister to play, "If the buggers think you don't know they're coming we'll have the upper hand in a fight"

"What about the kids?" she sighed, "I can't just leave them with anyone"

"Er, hello, father here!" Spike reminded her, "You don't think I can deal with two Little Bits for a few hours"

"It's not that I don't trust you to take care of them, Spike" Buffy assured him, "but kids are a lot of work, especially these two" she smiled at Ellie and Chloe as they played together on the floor, "I don't know if you're ready for this"

"I can stay here" Illyria said suddenly, surprising the whole room, "If Spike requires assistance, I can give it"

Buffy looked warily at the women who in turn gazed at the children, her head tilted in that strange way. The blonde's eyes switched to Spike who nodded it was okay. Illyria seemed a little weird to those who didn't know her, but Spike trusted her and hoped that Buffy would have confidence in his opinion.

"Okay" the Slayer nodded slowly, "I'll only be a few hours, then I'll come straight home" she told them, "I just have to change"

As Buffy disappeared into the bedroom, Ellie called for her father who crouched down on the ground with the two little girls, playing a silly game with them. Giles could hardly believe the sight before him, a former vicious vampire playing with his daughters who as yet were a miracle. They were conceived when Spike was still undead, and as such apparently sterile. It was a quandary Giles often spent his time pondering, though he was yet to come up with an answer.

Buffy appeared from the bedroom in her uniform for the cafe, pulling her hair into a ponytail as she ran though all the details about the kids, like where their food was kept and what time they had their nap. She kissed both girls on the forehead and Giles said he'd walk her to work before heading to library.

"See you later, pet" Spike said as she went towards the door. She stopped and turned back, surprising him when she walked right up to him and kissed him briefly on the lips.

"Take care of them" she whispered, "and yourself"

"I will" he assured her, "You watch your back too, yeah?"

"Promise" she nodded before turning back towards the door and leaving with Giles.

"I am glad we are alone" Illyria said behind Spike. He made a face as he turned to look at her, not at all comfortable with what she seemed to be implying. She stared back at him trying to read his expression and the bleached blond realised he was being an idiot. It was Buffy's uncertainty about his companion that had got him reading too much into her innocent words.

"What's up, pet?" he asked, shaking his head because he knew how stupid he was being.

"When we were put back into the world as humans, you became my guide" Illyria began, "You taught me what I must know, how I must be to get along in this world, in my new form"

"I did" Spike nodded uncertainly.

"I have fewer questions of late" she continued, "but you are still my guide in this world, the one I may turn to should I wish it" she said, staring out of the window.

Spike smirked to himself, knowing what she meant. He was the closest thing she had to a best friend and he guessed he could say she was the nearest he had to such a person too these past months.

"Lyri, if you've got somethin' you wanna ask me pet, be a good girl and spit it out before we both grow old" he urged her when she stayed silent too long. She turned sharply almost making him jump at the suddenness of her movement.

"I wish to know how one attracts another person" she said, head held high as if to prove she were not embarrassed to ask, though inside she felt a little ridiculous.

Spike tilted his head and stared at her.

"Is this about the Whelp?" he smirked, more so when she couldn't meet his eyes, "So I was right, eh?" the ex-vampire realised, finding it all very amusing, "You've got a thing for the boy then, do ya?"

"I do not wish you to make jokes at my expense" Illyria snapped, "I wish for you to help me as you assured me you would"

"I dunno what you want me to say, luv" Spike admitted, letting out a breath and moving to sit on the couch as he watched the kids play at his feet.

"I want an answer" came Illyria's simple reply, "Tell me what it is that makes humans attracted to each other. Tell me why you feel as deeply as you do for Buffy Summers"

That got Spike's full attention though he really wasn't sure how to answer. As he thought about where to begin, Lyri came to sit in the armchair nearby.

"There's more than one kind of attraction" he began to explain, only glancing at the woman he was talking to once in a while, "I mean, take a look at yourself, luv, any man with eyes is going to find you attractive in a physical sense" he told her, almost surprised when she seemed to colour at the comment, Illyria wasn't exactly the blushing type.

"Then there's attraction that goes deeper than just the physical" Spike continued, "Like me and Buffy. Sometimes you look at someone and you just know, and you can deny it til it drives you crazy but it's there, and it's real, and it's love" he told her, looking right at her when he finished his little speech.

"How do you tell?" Illyria was intrigued to know, "Must I kiss every person I find physically attractive until one excites me enough? Is this how I should tell if I love them?"

"That might be fun to see" Spike smirked, pretending to consider the option, "but no, pet, thats not how it's done" he took a deep breath when he realised she wasn't letting this go til she got the answers she was looking for.

"Love can't be forced, only encouraged" he told her, feeling sort of strange imparting his wordily wisdom on these particular topics. He'd been loves bitch long enough, however, he felt he was pretty qualified to explain it to an ex-demon-god turned human.

"You like someone enough to try and win their heart, you just gotta hope they're willing to let go, accept that you want to give all you have as well as take a little too. All going well, you get something special out of it, something that doesn't compare to anything else" he said, staring off into space, hardly aware of where he actually was until Chloe began driving a toy truck around his feet, giggling as she did so.

"You make a pretty speech" Illyria told him as he leant down to play with the kids once again, "but you have not helped me yet" she pointed out, "I shall speak plainly, I feel... something for Xander. I don't understand it and it unsettles me" she admitted, shifting in her seat, "When he looks at me I get a feeling inside of me that is unidentifiable and... I wish him to like me, I think... I wish him to desire me"

"Trust me, pet, he desires you as you put it" Spike almost laughed, "He's a bloke, Lyri, and you're a good looking woman, the desire aspect comes pretty easily"

"You speak of physical attraction again?" she checked, hoping she understood.

"'S right, luv, I do" Spike confirmed, "but what you're feeling, little flittery, dizzy feelings when he looks at you, that'll be you falling for him a little bit I shouldn't wonder, though personally I wouldn't know the exact ins and outs of what happens to girls when they like a fella like that" he shrugged, "Maybe somethin' you should ask Buffy"

"Your Slayer dislikes me" Illyria snapped, getting up and going back to the window.

"Nonsense, Lyri" Spike told her, "She's just wary of you. Not one of the tight little Scooby circle yet, makes the Slayer nervous is all, she'll be alright"

"Love cannot be forced, only encouraged" Illyria said softly to herself, not really paying attention to Spike anymore. He rolled his eyes realising whilst it might be amusing and interesting having Illyria fall for Xander it was going to be bloody awkward keeping her mind on anything else for a while.

"Soddin' hell, Lyri, if the boy's gonna be your sole topic of conversation you're gonna get real boring, real fast, y'know that?" he told her, "Love can't be that foreign to you, you liked Wes well enough..." he said without thinking stopping short when she gave him a look that was so much like Fred is was frightening, "Sorry, touchy subject"

"I did not love Wesley, not as you think I did" Illyria explained, "I believe the memories and feelings of Winifred Burkle that stayed within the shell were why I was attracted to him. Since our return to this existence, I find he is a friend I hold fond memories of" she said with a faraway look as if she were remembering, "His passing caused me pain, but time heals as it would not, should I have loved him so much"

Spike nodded his understanding of that. There were times that Illyria said some right stupid things, and other times when she made a frightening amount of sense.

"Look, pet" he sighed, "If you like Xander just... play nice" he told her at a loss as to where to begin. He didn't exactly spend a lot of time wondering how women attracted men, especially not lately when the only woman he had any real interest in was the Slayer, "Help him out, back him up, maybe when all the demon-related crap is over ask the boy out on a date" he suggested.

"This seems to be sound advice" Illyria condescended to agree, "Thankyou, Spike"

"Your bloody welcome, luv" he smirked to himself as the kids both laughed, having fun.

'Another ex-demon for the list there, Whelp' Spike thought to himself. That was going to keep him amused for a while.

To Be Continued...


	14. Chapter 14

A/N : Thanx so much to the reviewers of the previous chapter; Brunettepet, Ember91, spuffymonica, KelleyTheSelfToastablePopTart, Max, SpuffyChiclet, LiLi, and Moluvsnumber17. Glad you all seem to like the Xander/Ilyria idea. I didn't plan it when I started the fic, it just started to make sense and seemed to happen all by itself! Hope you like this new chapter...  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 14

Buffy's mind whirred at ninety miles an hour as she worked her shift at the cafe. She wasn't sure whether it was a good or bad thing that wiping tables, serving food, and making coffee only required half of her brain power, leaving the other half to think about everything that was going on in her life. Spike was back. Just those three simple words made her smile so much it hurt, but it wasn't as simple as that. There was Davy to consider, he'd been so great and loved her so much these past months. He'd helped her with the kids, understood about her past, and she did love him, still Buffy knew she'd never feel for her current fiancé what she felt for her ex-love and the father of her children.

Ellie and Chloe could well be in danger too, and that scared Buffy more than anything else ever had. Herself she could protect and if she couldn't well the world could get along without her, she wasn't the only Slayer anymore. When it came to her little girls, however, Buffy just could not let anything bad happen to them, and she knew Spike felt the same. He loved them already, despite the fact he barely knew them, she could see in his eyes what he felt about his daughters.

It was the end of Buffy's shift and the sun was just beginning to go down. She started walking home, taking her usual route when something caught her eye. Someone or something was watching her. Buffy turned slightly, tried to concentrate and hone her senses. It had been a while since she'd really done the Slayer thing, not counting a little trip to the graveyard a couple of days ago. Now as she focused she found it all came back to her, the heightened awareness, the knowledge that she was being stalked.

"Come on, where are you?" she whispered to herself as she turned in the empty street, "Gotcha" she said as she ran towards a shadowy figure. Far from running away the demon showed itself, an ugly thing, with horns jutting from it's head and down it's spine. It's skin resembled that of an elephant or some such animal, all grey and wrinkled, and it wore an old fashioned type of armour made up of leather and metal. Buffy was just taking in it's appearance, working out how best to attack when a force pushed her back. The creature grinned evilly as Buffy bounced off an invisible barrier several feet from the demon. It was as she fought against the wall she couldn't see that the Slayer noticed something else, a small gemstone in the demons head, glittering clear and bright like a diamond. It flashed and gleamed, presumably the source of the power that held Buffy back.

The demon growled ferociously, pointing an arm out at the Slayer and gabbling in a language she didn't understand. At first she worried it was casting some kind of spell but from it's tone she thought not. It was talking to her, telling her something, maybe warning her of something, before it pelted off down the road. Buffy gave chase, getting faster as she realised where they were headed. The demon was taking her home and she hated to think of the reason.

A demon with a diamond in it's head, it had been in Xander's vision, the same vision that told of Ellie and Chloe being snatched away. With the demon able to put up a barrier against her, Buffy knew she could not stop it doing whatever it wanted, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try.

She caught up with it outside the building where she lived, slamming it face first against the wall. In a second she was on it's back, holding it's head and attempting to snap it's neck but the demon flipped her off with ease. It gestured with it's arm and the barrier was back, Buffy could not get through the door as the demon raced up the stairs to her apartment.

"Nooo!" she screamed, banging on the air that pushed her back, "No, my babies! Oh God, my children!" the Slayer cried, feeling so painfully helpless. She could only hope Spike and Illyria were able to save the kids now, there was nothing left that she could do.

* * *

"What the bloody hell...?" Spike was woken from shallow sleep by a scuffle downstairs. Illyria was by the door in an instant, listening to the sounds of fighting beyond it. She crossed to the window and peered down only to see a demon throw Buffy back with such a force.

"It is Buffy" she told Spike, "She is losing to a demon"

"Bugger" the ex-vampire exclaimed leaping up from the sofa, "Keep an eye on the kids" he called as he ran for the door and met the nasty looking demon half way down the stairs, "Why don't I think you come in peace?" he quipped as he kicked the creature in the chest, knocking him back slightly.

The demon spoke in some old garbled language that Spike thought he should know but couldn't place as he wailed on the creature. The demon was stronger than it looked but Spike was a man possessed as he fought to keep the creature back, away from his kids that he'd just found. As they grappled with each other the pair tumbled down the flight of stairs, landing at the bottom with a thud.

"Spike!" Buffy called desperately from the doorway where she was still held back. He glanced to look at her, losing concentration just long enough for the demon to clobber him over the head and knock him unconscious, "No!" Buffy cried and the demon grinned evilly as it lumbered up the stairs once again. The Slayer was forced to stay back behind the door, staring in at her broken and bloody lover, knowing she could be about to lose her children too.

The demon reached the door of the apartment and knocked it off it's hinges in just two hits.

"You will not harm the children" Illyria told the creature, "I am charged with their care, I will not fail my companions"

The demon just growled as it lunged at her, and the ex-God easily dodged it's attacks, expertly flipping away and using the creatures weight against it. It came back at her, hitting her across the back and sending her flying. It took all the effort she had to get back on her feet but she was so determined. She flew into the back of the creature, slamming it into the window. The pair smashed through together, and both would've plummeted two floors to their imminent death were it not for the fact one was a near-indestructible demon and the other had finely tuned reactions. Illyria grabbed hold of the fire escape as they toppled out into the night air. She hung there by one arm, watching as the demon dropped to the floor and landed with a sickening crunch. It wasn't dead, but it was unconscious and injured enough they may be able to capture it, learn what it's aim was in taking the children.

Buffy saw the demon coming down towards the ground and winced as it hit the stone beside her, sending sickly green blood flying in several directions. She'd had her whole weight on the invisible barrier in the doorway and it gave way as the demon lost consciousness. The Slayer tumbled into the foyer, landing on her knees beside Spike.

"Buffy?" he said hoarsely as he came too, his head swimming spectacularly and blood obscuring his vision in one eye.

"Spike, oh thank God" she cried when she realised he was alive at least. She put her head on his chest and felt his heart beat there, still strong. He manoeuvred an arm towards her, hand stroking her hair for a moment before he shifted.

"Buffy, the kids" he choked out and her eyes went wide with alarm as she realised just because the demon was dead didn't mean the children were okay.

"Oh God" she exclaimed, bolting for the stairs, wanting to stay with Spike but needing to know Ellie and Chloe were safe too. She was relieved to hear the cries and yells of her babies as she reached the top of the stairs. At least their noise proved they were alive and she ran to them, crying floods of relieved tears when she realised they were fine, just disturbed from sleep by the commotion.

"Buffy!" Xander yelled, running into the apartment, "Buffy, answer me!"

"I'm here" she called as she emerged from the bedroom with her children in her arms, blood running down her cheek and cuts visible on her arms and through the rips in her clothes, "Oh God Xander I thought..." she couldn't even tell him as she cried like she'd never stop. She'd never felt so helpless and afraid in all her life as just then.

Illyria managed to pull herself up the fire escape and appeared in the shattered window then, coughing and choking as she did so.

"Geez, you okay?" Xander asked stupidly as he ran to pull her up.

"I... I think I shall be" she told him as he got her to her feet and helped her over to the armchair as Buffy sat down on the couch with her kids held tightly to either side of her.

"Giles is downstairs with Dawnie, they're helping Spike" Xander explained, "The demon's not dead but it's not getting up for a long time, Andrew knows a spell to bind it for now, he's gone to get what he needs"

"It's all coming true" Buffy sniffed, "It tried to take my kids, and I couldn't stop it"

"I know" Xander nodded, feeling terrible for her, "The demon, it's the one I saw"

"Buffy?" said a voice from the door and the three turned to see Spike limping towards her. He almost collapsed at her feet so relieved to see both her and his children alive and relatively well.

The rest of the group looked on as the family held onto each other. They'd been back together just a couple of days and yet it was as if Spike and Buffy had never been apart, as if he'd been with her and the kids all this time.

Illyria watched with jealous eyes as the little group hugged each other, revelled in the fact they were all alive, that they'd come through something so horrific. She felt a little guilty for expecting thanks for the part she played, but it wasn't the words and the gratitude she really wanted to receive. She wanted to be held, it was quite the miracle that she was alive too, but the only one to care was Spike and he was so pre-occupied. Illyria glanced wistfully at Xander who seemed almost as alone as she did. If they could be together, they'd never have to worry about being lonely or unloved again, she realised, but now was not the time to speak of it.

* * *

It was a couple of hours since the demon attack. The creature itself was bound by a spell Andrew knew how to perform, and held in an abandoned building two streets away. It would be safe and out of the way there until the gang figured out what to do next. Eloise and Chloe were settled back to sleep, and Giles took Dawn to fetch the books in order to do further research at Buffy's apartment. Buffy took Spike through to her bedroom to clean up his and her own wounds, leaving Illyria and Xander alone.

"Looks like I'm back to being Mr Fix It" Xander said to himself, examining the window that had got smashed during the fight, "Demon did some serious damage here"

"It was my fault, I believe" Illyria told him, as she removed her boot from her left leg, "I pushed the demon through the glass..." she began to explain, stopping sharply and hissing with pain as the large gash on her leg stuck to the fabric of her pants as she tried to roll it up.

"You're hurt" Xander realised as he came to kneel in front of her, "Let me see that" he said, pushing her hands away and gently taking hold of her leg, examining the damage.

"It is a minor injury" she lied, "It was a necessary evil, damage to my body in order to save the children"

Xander smiled at her attitude. She was an ex-demon-god from what he'd been told, but there was no mistaking the fact she'd been made human now, complete with soul and ability to care, maybe even love.

"Buffy and Spike appreciate it" he told her kindly, "Pretty much just you stood between the demon and those kids, you were brave to take it on alone"

"I did what I must" she said in a strangely soft tone she didn't recognise as her own, as Xander's hand shifted on her leg and sent shivers down her spine in a way that was foreign to her. Her eyes met his and she wasn't sure whether it was the blood loss or the way he was looking at her that made her dizzy.

"We should clean up this leg" Xander smiled, "Don't want it going icky, might have to cut it off, and how weird would you look with just one leg, huh?" he joked, getting up and going to find a first aid box or similar.

"You have just one eye, and still manage to be attractive" she told his back, wishing the very next moment that she hadn't said it at all.

"Er, thanks" Xander said awkwardly, keeping his back to her.

Since Anya he'd barely looked at a woman, never once thought he'd be desirable to anyone the way he was now, disabled and lacking in any kind of real skills or anything. It was nice to know he was still attractive to a woman like this, even if Illyria probably was lying to be polite.

* * *

"Hold still" Buffy told Spike as she cleaned the rest of the blood from his face.

"Doesn't even hurt" he told her, earning himself a look, "Okay, so it's bloody crucifying me" he admitted with a half-smile, "but it could've been worse"

"It could" Buffy nodded, "I never felt so helpless in all my life, couldn't protect my kids, couldn't even help when that thing attacked you" her voice wavered as tears welled in her eyes.

"'S alright luv" Spike told her softly, taking hold of her hand, "Everything worked out, the kids are fine and I'll mend y'know. Might be a human now but still bleedin' tough, make no mistake"

"I know" Buffy nodded, "but, standing behind that barrier, knowing I couldn't help, knowing I could lose you again..." she was so close to tears and yet determined for him to know how deeply she felt for him, couldn't bear to think he didn't believe it like before, "Spike, I love you so much" she told him as tears crept down her cheeks, and he pulled her into a hug despite the fact it hurt like hell to hold her close.

"I know, baby" he assured her, "I love you too, and you're not gonna lose me. I'm not going anywhere, I swear it"

He pulled away enough to see her face and wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs, before gently kissing her lips.

"Look what that bugger's done to my girl" he winced a little at the sight of the cuts and bruises down Buffy's arm.

"I'm okay" she told him, with a smile "I'll mend, I'm bleedin' tough too y'know" she said, mimicking his accent very badly making him laugh til he coughed violently, and clutched at his chest.

Buffy reached for the edge of his shirt and lifted it up, running her hand over his ribs to check for damage. Her hand on his skin made Spike shudder involuntarily, and his eyes closed of their own accord, it'd been a long time since they were last so close.

"Buffy..." her name came from his lips as a whisper and he wasn't aware how close her face was to his til she kissed him. Though every movement was painful they longed to be together that way again and their passion started to overtake them.

"Buffy! Spike!" Dawn yelled their names as she arrived back at the apartment with Giles and a whole heap of books.

Spike pulled back from Buffy who made a sound of complaint at the loss of contact.

"You know there's nothing I'd rather do, pet" he told her, reading the look in her eyes, "but state I'm in right now, it might just kill me" he smirked, "'Sides we gotta get this research done, figure out why that demon son of a bitch is out to take the Little Bits away" he reminded her, sobering her up pretty fast. However, as she scrambled to her feet, she was still pouting.

"When did you get all rational and boring?" she complained, tidying up the medical supplies and putting her messed up clothes in the laundry.

"Might be rational on occasion, luv" he told her, moving up behind her and grabbing her around the waist, "but I'll never be boring" he promised, planting a kiss on her neck before letting her go and heading out of the door.

"No" Buffy smiled as she finished tidying up and followed him out to the living room where the gang waited, "Never boring"

To Be Continued...


	15. Chapter 15

A/N : Thanx so much to my latest reviewers; Moluvsnumber17, spuffymonica, KelleyTheSelfToastablePopTart, LiLi, Brunettepet, Ember91, and tippex-groupie. More info about the demon in this chapter and some more of the Spike-Illyria friendship.  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 15

Buffy was naturally concerned for her kids lives and knew she should be concentrating on the book in her hands in an attempt to find something useful, but her eyes kept leaving the page to survey the scene around her. It was just like being back in Sunnydale, all the Scoobies spread around the room just like they had been back then in the Magic Box or the Summers house. Books on the tables and on the floor, Giles and Dawn making notes, Spike with his cute little 'serious study' look on his face, and Xander and Andrew both fidgeting because those boys just couldn't ever keep still!

Buffy had missed this, missed being amongst her friends. Giles being in charge and Xander asking why there were no doughnuts. Of course they were missing Willow, who might still be in Brazil or could be somewhere else entirely by now. Nobody had heard from her in months which worried them slightly, but they were all too aware of how strong the witch had become, she could look after herself now.

"You tired, pet?" Spike asked her, his hand on her shoulder, startling her out of deep thought, "Your eyes keep glazing over" he smirked as she looked at him.

"I'm fine" she assured him, putting her hand over his and squeezing his fingers gently, "Just thinking is all, about Sunnydale"

"Done a lot of that myself over the time" he nodded, "Wasn't all sunbeams and rainbows, but there were good times"

"Yeah" Buffy smiled, just enjoying this little moment when Andrew all but squealed.

"Okay, burst eardrum now" Dawn complained, leaning away from her boyfriend who bounced in his seat.

"And so say all of us" Xander agreed from across the table.

"You guys, I found it!" Andrew said excitedly, handing the book over to Giles and gesturing at the paragraph he meant, "The demon, I found it!"

The gang all gathered closer as Giles read aloud from the book.

"Propulso Antesignanus, roughly translated, the soldier that repels..."

"Well that makes sense" Buffy cut in, "I couldn't get within a few feet of that thing without getting blasted back"

"But it was only you, luv" Spike frowned, "Me and Lyri had ourselves a right old punch up with the thing"

"If you would all wait just a moment" Giles said, looking a little annoyed, "I shall continue"

"Please do, oh mighty Watcher" Spike smirked, as Buffy and Dawn tried not to giggle. It was nice to have something to laugh about after the last couple of days.

"The soldier that repels..." Giles continued from where he'd left off, "is very rare, almost extinct in fact, but those that live on are extremely vicious creatures. They are foot soldiers in a way, working for others and when they are given a goal, something they're supposed to acheive, they will not stop until their task is complete" he explained, and nobody liked the implications of that, "The demon has the ability to keep fellow 'soldiers' at bay by activating a forcefield between the stone in it's head and theirs..."

"But I'm not one of his kind, there is no diamondy stone in my head...right?" Buffy frowned feeling her forehead for signs of gemstone growth.

"Not in your head" Spike shook his head grabbing her left hand as it rubbed her face, "On your finger" he pointed out, bringing her hand down to the table and watching the light shine through her engagement ring.

"No" Buffy shook her head as the gang all stared at her, "No, you cannot be suggesting that this demon has anything to do with Davy. He is NOT evil!" she protested loudly.

"It's kind of a weird coincidence though" Dawn said carefully, not wishing to amplify her sisters anger as the Slayer got up from her seat and walked away from the table.

"Dawnie, it's Davy" she implored her sister, hoping for some support, "He's not a bad guy" when Dawn looked away Buffy glanced at Andrew.

"Anakin started out good but... y'know, lure of the dark side's kinda tricky to avoid" he shrugged, not wanting to get in the middle of this. What started out as simple spat could easily lead to imminent death with a Slayer around.

"Look, Buff" Xander tried to calm her down, "Nobody is saying that your guy Davy is the big evil, we're just saying maybe he, I dunno, maybe..."

"Maybe he gave her a bloody repeller demons ring and then _accidentally_ sent said demon after her kids!" Spike exploded angrily, "What is wrong with the bleedin' lot of you, the man is evil!"

"He can't be!" Buffy shot back, "You don't know him, he couldn't be a demon or anything evil he just couldn't"

"Why Buffy? Tell me why the bloody hell not!" Spike wanted to know.

"Because he was the first real man to love me!" she yelled without thinking, immediately clamping her hand over her mouth when she realised what words had escaped, "Spike, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." she began to apologise but he shook his head.

"Save it, Slayer" he told her nastily, grabbing his coat from the back of the chair and disappearing out the door before anyone else could say a word.

Tears streamed from Buffy's eyes and Dawn came over to hug her as she cried.

"I didn't mean it the way it came out, Dawnie, I didn't" the Slayer sobbed.

"I know" the younger girl nodded rubbing her sisters back.

"Not that I wish to upset matters further" Giles said carefully, "but, er, if we are to solve the mysteries of this demon, it might be in our best interest to get your ring checked Buffy"

"Checked?" she asked, sniffing as she pulled out of her sisters embrace and they came back to the table.

"Yes, a simple spell should tell us if it is a diamond or... something else" he explained. Buffy wanted to say no, wanted to swear black and blue that it _was_ a diamond, because Davy wasn't evil, because she'd found a good and normal man to love her, but it seemed she was wrong.

"I think I must go after, Spike" Illyria said suddenly scrambling to her feet, "He is... my friend, I suppose, and he is distressed. I am of no use to you at this time" she told the group as she made for the door.

"Illyria?" Buffy called behind her. The woman with the blue-streaked hair turned back.

"Thank you, for protecting my children" the Slayer said sincerely, "and, if you find Spike, please tell him I'm sorry and that... that I love him"

"I will" Illyria nodded, "Though I am certain he already knows it"

As the woman left, Giles pushed some books aside and picked up another, flicking pages til he found the spell he was looking for.

"Ah yes, here we are" he announced, "This spell is for identifying the mystical powers of gemstones. Some are enchanted, some are purely decorative, and it is not always simple to tell which is which. By way of specific ingredients and a little Latin, this spell puts a sort of forcefield around the stone. Those with mystical properties will glow brightly, others will remain as they were"

"What do we need?" Buffy asked flatly. She wanted this over with as soon as possible. She couldn't let herself believe that Davy might be behind it at all, but if the spell proved positive, it seemed she would have to.

* * *

Spike couldn't believe the pain in his heart right now. He was sure it would not hurt so much if Buffy had put a knife through him, her words had stung just as a blade might've, only worse. Davy was the first real man to love her, God did she really not know how painful that was to hear. He wasn't a real man when he fell in love with her, maybe she didn't even consider him a man now, just a former demon, not good enough for the likes of her.

Spike had thought seeing Buffy kiss Angel not twenty four hours after spending the night in his arms had made him feel as bad as he ever could, but this was worse. He felt like such an idiot when he noticed a tear in his eye and he wiped it away harshly as he stormed down the street, duster flying out behind him. He reached in his pocket for his cigarettes. Though he smoked much less as a human than he had as a vamp, he could never quite kick the habit completely. In times of crisis and stress, he needed a fag to keep him sane.

It was only when Spike stopped walking to light his cigarette that he realised it wasn't just his heart that ached. In the rush to escape from Buffy's apartment, his body seemed to have forgotten about the beating it had taken just a couple of hours ago. Of course his healing powers, much like Buffy's, had kicked in and he was better now than he had been a few moments after the attack, but muscles still burned as he tried to walk on further, his head pounding and spinning as he tried to focus his eyes.

Spike sat down heavily on the side of a fountain and flicked ash onto the pavement. With his head down the first he knew of his companion were her boots coming into view.

"Not now, Lyri" he shook his head turning away. Ignoring him, Illyria took a seat beside him.

"She is sorry you know" she said, "Your Buffy Summers, I do not believe she intended to wound you"

"Well, she bloody did!" he snapped, throwing his spent cigarette to the ground and stamping on it, "If I wasn't such a stupid ponce, maybe it wouldn't hurt so damn much" he half-yelled, "Or maybe if I wasn't so much in love with her..." he added bitterly, "How does she do it to me, Lyri?" he asked, not really expecting an answer, "How can she make me feel so good, and then so worthless in a matter of hours?"

"I believe these are the ways of love" Illyria told him, a comforting hand on his shoulder, "A wise man once told me that sometimes the pain we suffer for it is worth the rewards in the end"

She was smirking slightly when he glanced over at her and a small smile broke through his dismal expression.

"Know what, pet?" he sighed, putting his hand on hers, "Sometimes wonder if life might not've been simpler if I'd just shacked up with you and had done with it"

"We will not have this conversation" Illyria said sharply, pulling her hand from under his, suddenly uncomfortable.

"Don't have a panic attack, luv, it was a joke" Spike told her with a slight frown.

"Love is not to be made fun of" she said shaking her head, "I believe I am developing an understanding of the subject, and I do not think one should find amusement in the tos and fros of it"

"An understanding of the subject, eh?" Spike said, his smirk returning as he tilted his head and stared at her, "You really are falling fast for the boy, aren't ya?"

"Do not presume you know my heart" Illyria snapped half-heartedly, unable to look her companion in the eye.

"Don't need to, luv" he explained, "I know you, and I know people in general. You could do worse than Harris y'know. Not saying he wasn't a royal pain in the ass from time to time but I'm fairly certain he'd treat you decent"

"I am not certain he even likes me" Illyria admitted, feeling very strange. She was not accustomed to the feelings she was having, and it unsettled her.

"The way he was looking at you before, reckon he might" Spike smiled, "Wish it was as simple for Buffy and me"

"You do not need coy glances across the room" Illyria told him, "You know Buffy loves you, just as you love her"

"How can we be in love when one of us barely qualifies as a human being?" he sneered and his companion rolled her eyes.

"Really William, the more I see of the two of you, the more I begin to wonder why you bother to be together at all" off his incredulous expression she continued, "but I know it is because you are in love, and all rational and logical arguments have no place where true love exists. Is that not so?"

Spike nodded slowly, looking away again.

"Almost a hundred and fifty years living and dead" he sighed, "And I'm still running out on arguments like a bloody kid"

"It is fortunate then that you have wise council from one who's birth was many millennia before your own" Illyria smiled as he looked back at her, "Now, I think we should go back to Buffy's apartment. Mr Giles is performing a spell that will end your feud, and help us to know who is planning to take your children from you"

Spike got up with his friend and began walking, back towards the only woman he ever truly loved, and whom he knew he would forgive anything. She and his children mattered more to him than anything else in this world. He'd be damned all over again if he was going to let a silly argument stop him from protecting them.

To Be Continued...


	16. Chapter 16

A/N : Thanx so much to the latest reviewers; spuffymonica, Ember91, KelleyTheSelfToastablePopTart, Maverick500, spikegothicchick, Sandra, Brunettepet, and Moluvsnumber17. Sorry this is kind of a short chapter, but I'm working on something else as well... look out for a new fic from me soon, hopefully the first chapter will be up tomorrow night! In the meantime, here's more of this one. Does Buffy's engagement ring really contain a diamond? Is Davy a bad guy? Find out here...  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 16

Buffy was shaking as the gang huddled around the table and waited for Giles to get on with the spell. The ingredients needed were fairly common and Dawn and Andrew were sent to get them from the modest store of magick supplies held at the apartment. The younger Summers sister was not a fraction of the witch Willow was but she'd learnt a couple of basic spells that came in handy for translations, temporary barriers, and the such like. She held out her hand to Buffy, and her sister grudgingly slid her engagement ring from her finger before handing it over.

"In the centre, Dawn" Giles told her, pointing on the table.

The ring was placed in the dish at the middle of the table, a circle of sand around that as Giles held a small bowl with a mixture of herbs and other ingredients within it. He referenced the book to his left as he sprinkled the substance from the bowl onto the ring and chanted something in Latin that most of the Scoobies didn't understand at all. None of them were really listening anyway, just concentrating on the ring and waiting to see if it would glow as a mystical item would or remain as it was, an ordinary diamond and symbol of love between man and future-wife.

Giles finished speaking but the staring continued, waiting and some wishing, all in silence til finally something happened. The ring seemed to come alive within the dish, rattling around it like it had a mind of it's own. When it finally settled, the stone shone with the brightest green light, almost too bright to look at.

"Oh God" Buffy physically reeled back, her hand going over her mouth as Dawn put an arm around her sisters shoulders.

"A positive result" Giles said softly, "The stone is mystical"

"So, er, the guy that gave the Buffster the ring..." Xander began voice trailing away as he realised how upset his friend looked.

Nobody wanted to say it, but the result of the spell only seemed to prove without a doubt that Davy was in fact evil.

"Buffy?" Spike called through the door as he knocked louder, his first attempt had been seemingly ignored in the midst of the spell.

"Let them in, Andrew" Giles suggested as the boy did just that and the ex-vampire stepped into the room with Illyria just behind him.

"What's goin' on?" he asked as he glanced at the still glowing ring, the ashen faced Slayer, and her shocked friends.

"The stone is glowing" Illyria explained, "This means a positive reaction to the spell, that is not a diamond but a mystical gem or crystal"

Spike resisted the urge to say 'I told you so' when he realised how genuinely upset Buffy looked.

"Slayer" he sighed, crouching down beside her chair, "I'm sorry, luv" he said honestly, hating to see her hurt this way. What she'd said had caused him pain, but if he was honest he knew she hadn't meant it the way it came out. He was hardly the king of tact himself, and yet he'd flown off the handle when she made a mistake, that wasn't fair.

"No" Buffy shook her head, turning to him, "No, I'm the one who's sorry, Spike" she insisted, "I'm sorry that what I said hurt you, I never meant to do that again" she assured him.

"I get it, pet, I do" he promised her with a half smile, "End of the day it's just words. You've said worse y'know"

"Maybe" she sighed, "I used to think comparing Davy to you was never fair on him, he couldn't compete, and now..." she glanced back at her ring that still shone with a bright light, "Now I see I was being unfair to you too"

"You thought I was dead, luv" Spike pointed out, "Can't exactly blame you for moving on"

"I never did" she replied quickly, "You were always in my heart, and I wouldn't want that to change even if you'd never come back to me... because whilst you were here" she said, hand on her chest, "I never truly let David Di Luigi in. Makes it hurt a little less now I know what I have to do" she said taking a deep breath, her face hardening.

"Er, Buff" Xander cut in, "Not to interrupt the kill, crush, destroy, and obviously completely onboard the vengeance train on this occasion but... this doesn't necessarily prove Davy is a guilty man"

"Wanna explain that, Whelp?" Spike frowned, the nick-name he used to use for Xander coming so easily. The brunette didn't comment, just smiled slightly. Despite everything he'd kind of missed it, this situation, being amongst the gang again, though he was kind of missing Willow.

"All I'm saying is, one glowy rock does not a villain make" he explained, "Remember the whole song and dance extravaganza back in Sunnydale?" he said, knowing they'd all recall it, "Demon caught Dawnie with his talisman on and was all ready to do the child bride thing, but yours truly was the culprit"

"Indeed" Giles nodded, "I see what Xander means. Simply because David gave the ring to Buffy does not mean he knew what it was"

"Did he tell you where he got it, Buffy?" Dawn asked her, not recalling being told whether it was a shop bought ring or handed down through the family or whatever.

"I think, I think it was his grandmothers?" the blonde tried to remember. Her head was so full, information overload right now. The comforting feeling on Spike's hand around her own was helping a lot though.

"And his grandma was what? Demon commander extraordinaire?" the bleached blond snorted, "I'm sorry but I'm not buying that this git didn't know your ring was all magicked up, luv" he told Buffy who didn't know what to think.

On the one hand, Davy was such a nice and sweet guy who'd cared for her and her kids so well these past months. On the other side of the argument, she wasn't exactly expecting to meet evil people and demons so much here in Rome, maybe she'd been blind to something that should've been obvious.

"Surely the easiest way to know who sent the demon is by use of torture" Illyria said suddenly, earning odd looks from all.

"Torture Davy?" Andrew asked making the ex-god roll her eyes.

"The demon who attacked us" she explained, "When threatened it might tell us what we need to know"

"It is unlikely the creature would speak in a language we could understand, Illyria" Giles told her, "It is of an ancient order, many hundreds of thousands of years old"

"That doesn't matter" Dawn shook her head, gaining the groups attention, "Remember back on the Hellmouth, when we captured the Bringer. He couldn't talk at all but we did that spell and Andrew told us what he wanted to say"

The boy's hand when subconsciously to his throat as he recalled the incident all too clearly.

"I don't wanna be the voice this time" he said definitely and Spike took a turn at rolling his eyes.

"I'll be the bleedin' voice" he offered, "Any bloody thing if it'll get this sorted once and for all"

"It's okay" Dawn told him, "I can do the spell, the voice should come through me"

"Little Wicca now, are you Bit?" Spike smirked.

"Well, I'm not like Willow type good or anything but I get by" she told him proudly as she went to fetch the book she needed and the rest of the gang prepared to leave the apartment. Buffy sat very still, watching her ring as the glow dissipated like Giles said it would soon. Spike stayed at her side, her hand in his.

"Luv, as much as I wanna do the comforting thing here" he told her, "My knees are bloody killing me" he pointed out as he shifted from his crouching position on the floor. The injuries he'd sustained hours earlier weren't helping much and it was an awful way to sit for too long.

"Get up" she half smiled, doing the same and pulling him into a hug, "Spike I love you so much" she reminded him. Though he knew it was true without being told, it thrilled him to hear the words.

"Love you too, sweetheart" he assured her, "Not gonna lie though, bloody hurt what you said" he added as they pulled apart slightly.

"I said I was sorry, I..." she began but he put a finger to her lips to silence her.

"I didn't say I wanted an apology" Spike told her, "Like you said, already got one. I just want you to know that, even if you did hurt me, I came back. I suddenly had this awful fear you'd think I'd left you again. Reckon I used up all my luck when you took me back this time, and all the times before" he smiled, head tilted as he stared at her, his fingers moving from her lips to her cheek.

"I knew you'd come back" she smiled fondly at him, "You always come back. I trust you to do that"

Spike couldn't answer her. He was in awe of the fact she loved him and trusted him so much now. In some ways it hurt that she hadn't felt this way when he was a vampire, only since he got made human. Something in his eyes told her he wasn't completely happy and she needed to know why.

"There's something you're not saying" she said with a slight frown.

"Dunno what you mean, pet" he said, first looking away and then completely walking away.

"Spike, you are a lousy liar these days" she informed him, glad that it seemed the rest of the gang had left them alone, probably in purpose.

"I just... I wonder if things could've been different" he told her, turning back, "I hate myself for thinkin' it Slayer, but if I was still a vampire..."

"Then I would love you just the same" she assured him, wanting to be offended but knowing she couldn't be. After all that had happened between them, she had no right to be angry that he didn't trust her love for him.

The two shared a long look until the Scoobies came crashing back into the room declaring they were ready to go.

"Er, we can't all go" Buffy told them, as she came out of her Spike related daze, "Someone has to stay here for the kids"

"Oh yes, of course" Giles sighed, unable to believe how stupid he'd been in not realising it sooner, "Er, well, Dawn must come to perform the spell and I propose to go with her"

"I have to go too" Andrew piped up, gripping onto his girlfriends hand. Though the idea of getting caught up in another spell of this kind didn't thrill him, he was going to be there for Dawn.

"Do you wish for me to stay behind?" Illyria offered, "I would think you two might wish to hear the demon's story" she said, turning to Spike and Buffy.

"Sounds good to me, luv" the bleached blond nodded as the Slayer did the same, "Hey Xander, how about you keep Lyri here company while we're gone?" he suggested, "Less of course you're too eager to hear what demon boy has to say?"

"No, I'll stay" the brunette offered, "It's no big. In a dire emergency, say another demon attack - not that it's likely but - I'm still pretty good with an axe" he grinned and Buffy smiled at her friends ever present enthusiasm for helping out.

"Right then, here we go" Spike smirked at Illyria as the gang vacated leaving the ex-God and her crush behind.

To Be Continued...


	17. Chapter 17

A/N : Thanx muchly to; Ember91, spuffy-monica, KelleyTheSelfToastablePopTart, King Henry the V (thanks, I knew all that, and if I amde errors like those then... oops!), and Spuffy2008. What happened to the rest of you readers? Didn't like the chapter enough to let me know? Oh well, doesn't matter. I love to write this story, and would continue even if nobody reviewed. Still, it is always nice to read your comments if you have time to leave one. Now for the chapter - let the Xander/Illyria-ness begin!  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 17

As much as Illyria appreciated Spike's suggestion of leaving herself and Xander alone, she was now at a loss as to know what to do. He sat in the armchair whilst she was in the middle of the couch. Illyria could not remember ever feeling so uncomfortable in her own skin, not even when her power had become too great for it's shell, not even when the Powers had made her a transparent spirit.

She had adjusted well to being a human being, albeit a superhero version. The blue streaks in her hair were as fake as the blondness of Spike's these days but she took the time to keep the marks that she felt made her herself. Her clothes were much more a woman than god, though mostly denim and leather due to Spike's influence. Though so many outside forces seemed to have made her what she was, Illyria was comfortable enough with herself, until now. She was so very aware of her looks and movement and so nervous about speaking in case she said something she shouldn't and offended the man across the room from her.

"So, er, how's the leg feeling?" he asked, startling her from her daze. His concern made her smile slightly, though she knew it was ridiculous, he was probably just making conversation.

"It heals" she told him, "I possess such power to heal my body at speed, much like Spike and your friend the Slayer"

"Handy thing to have" Xander nodded, "I'm almost jealous" he admitted, subconsciously adjusting his eye-patch.

"You have suffered in battle" she said with a tilt of her head, "You have suffered to save others, knowing that you would not heal so fast, or even at all" though she was making statement rather than asking questions he felt he needed to agree with her.

"Yeah, I fight because somebody has to" he shrugged.

"The Slayer was chosen for her task, as they all were" Illyria pointed out, "The Powers decreed that Spike and I should do there bidding. You were not ordered to help and yet you do" she smiled, "I admire that"

"Thanks" Xander smiled back, glancing away when her intense gaze became a little too much to bear, "but the way I hear it, you did the same. I mean, you fought with Angel's gang before the Powers told you that you had to, right?"

"I did" she agreed, "but I did not seek to fight for the sake of good alone" she said, looking away, "In the end I fought for vengeance, to make others pay for my fallen ally"

"Vengeance, huh? I know a little something about that" Xander said more to himself than to her, "You and Wes had kind of a connection?" he said, moving to join her on the couch as she looked down at her hands that fidgeted at her knees. This creature, this woman, she was so different. In this moment it was hard to believe she was the same person to have fought the demon that had threatened her. She seemed so small and a little lost.

"Wesley was my guide" she said more softly than she meant to, "I had affection for him of some kind I believe, perhaps you would say we were friends but... do not assume I was in love" she snapped, realising how vulnerable she must look to him right now, "I... I did not believe I had the capacity for that, not before"

"Before what?" Xander frowned, not understanding.

Illyria could not understand why her heart beat so fast in her chest or why her palms were sweating so much as he spoke softly to her. If this was love or similar she found it to be most unsettling and not a wondrous emotion like she had hoped. Though she wanted to answer him, to 'make a move' as Spike would say, she was almost relieved when the kids began to stir, one of them screaming loudly from the bedroom.

"Want me to go?" Xander offered as Illyria got to her feet.

"It cannot be so difficult to make them stop" she said with a shake of her head as she disappeared into the bedroom. It was Chloe that was crying, Ellie though awake was quiet so far.

"How is it one so small can make such noise?" Illyria asked no-one in particular as she lifted Chloe from her crib and tried to remember how children of such a size should be held, "Come now, it is dark outside, time for your eyes to be closed and silence to reign" she said, bouncing the baby a little and rubbing her back as her tears and yells calmed down to gentle sobs.

"You have no need for tears, little one" Illyria continued, unaware she was being watched from the door, "It amazes me, the amount of salt water spilt by the species I have been made a part of. I do not make a habit of showing such emotion... perhaps this is my downfall" she said, speaking more freely to the children that didn't understand at all than she could've to any grown-up.

"I did not know I was capable of such deep feelings and yet I feel them. I wish to know love, and believe now I may have the capacity to experience it. Though I have affection for Spike, I know what I feel is not the same as those feelings he and Buffy Summers have for each other. Feelings of attraction and longing to be close..." she closed her eyes and pushed back ridiculous tears that she'd been complaining about just moments before. She put the now quiet Chloe back into her crib and looked down at the two little girls as they went back to sleep.

"Yet he will not notice me, will never want me as I feel I want him" she continued in the darkness, "He is a better human being than I can ever be, he fights not because he was chosen but because he cares enough to do so. An old god made flesh would be of no interest to such a man..." her voice trailed away and she realised the two children now slept soundly once again.

Illyria backed towards the door, turning as she came through it and finding she was face to face with Xander, barely two inches between their bodies.

"Hey" he said, not knowing where else to begin, "I was, er, just checking that everything was okay, with you, and the kids obviously"

"They are sleeping once again" she breathed, finding words didn't come easily all of a sudden, "but I... I struggle to convey what I am feeling" she said frustratedley, part of her wishing she could make her body move and run for the exit, the other loving being this close to Xander and aching to be closer still.

"What you feel..." he said trying to read her expression, "What you said to the kids... that wasn't about anybody in particular, like say, I dunno, a friend of the Slayer with an eye patch, maybe?" he asked, with a light laugh.

He could always say he was joking if she laughed now or told him he was an idiot for suggesting such a thing. He wasn't sure whether it was a good or bad thing when she remained silent.

"Illyria?" he prompted and suddenly she seemed to snap out of her daze.

"Am I unattractive?" she asked him earnestly, "I have no way to know how to act, what to think... Perhaps you do not even like me at all in which case I waste my time dallying here" she shook her head as she looked away a pained expression on her face.

"Hey" Xander put a hand to her cheek and made her look at him again, "You are not unattractive" he said firmly, "I just... I guess I'm kind of thrown that you might think I'm worthy of noticing or whatever"

"Spike has taught me all human beings have worth" she told him, swallowing hard, the feel of his fingers on her cheek making her shiver, "but some unknown force makes me feel your worth is far greater to me than that of others"

Xander wasn't sure what to say to that. He wasn't exactly used to gorgeous women being so complimentary about him. Cordelia had always been insulting, even when she was kissing him. Anya, well she was blunt and direct about what she felt and what she wanted, he'd loved her so much but the girl wasn't exactly big with the romantic words, more with the action. Now here was Illyria, some kind of mighty warrior, suddenly reduced to a scared deer in the headlamps of a Mack truck, and somehow he made her feel this way? Xander couldn't take that concept in.

"I think I would like you to kiss me now" she told him suddenly, and in a moment of the strangest clarity, he did just that.

* * *

"Rise and shine, you ugly bastard!" Spike yelled, kicking the unmoving demon in the ribs as he did so, "What's up with the stupid bugger?" he asked, turning back to look at Giles who was turning pages of a spell book.

"It is held by a binding spell" he explained, "It is probably best that we keep it in this state"

"Can it talk?" Buffy checked, "I mean are we gonna be able to channel anything from it word-wise if it's all unconscious?"

"Er, s'not unconscious, luv" Spike pointed out as he rolled the beast over. It's eyes were open and shooting evil glances at all, the stone in it's head glowed brightly and it's lips twisted in an attempt to form words

"The spell stops it from moving" Andrew told them, "Makes the body feel like it's made out of lead, but it's not knocked out or anything. I don't know how to do that"

"That's okay" Buffy nodded, "So long as it doesn't move, we're okay"

"So then" Giles said, passing Dawn the book, "Shall we begin"

The younger Summers stepped up by the demon and took a deep breath before she began to read.

"Konus bizimle viza adam" she chanted "Konus bizimle guzle re olya ma adam. Speak to us" as she spoke the final words she got in the demon's line of sight, the idea being that if she was the person it saw as she spoke the words of the spell, she would become the vessel through which it would speak.

The rest of the group waited for some kind of sound to come from either the demon or Dawn, but none did.

"Did it work?" Spike whispered to Giles, "'M not hearing much"  
"Wait a moment..." the Watcher told him as he stepped forward and glanced between the demon and the Slayer's sister.

"Can you speak to us?" he asked.

"I can, but I will not" said Dawn in a much deeper voice than she possessed. She made a startled sound as her hand went to her throat, "To betray my Master would mean loss of my life, and my honour"

Buffy strode over there with her axe in hand and held it aloft over the demon's still form.

"You don't think not talking would mean loss of your worthless life too!" she yelled, taking aim with the blade.

"You do not know what you do" it said through Dawn, "The forces you are playing with"

"Got the biggest forces there are on our side, mate" Spike told it, "Brought back by the Powers That Be I was, and those kids you tried stealing are bloody miracles"

"This I know" the demon answered, "This my Master knows. The blood of the innocent miracles possesses great power"

"This Master of yours" Giles asked what no-one else dared, "Does he have a name?"

"This I shall not betray" the demon swore, until a sword was pressed against it's throat.

"We'll ask again then, shall we?" Spike sneered, "The name of your Master, what is it?"

There was a long pause and everyone's eyes were on Dawn as the demon's answer began to spill from her own lips.

"My Master has the name of..."

An almighty crash blew the doors from the building and threw the four Scoobies to the ground with force enough to break the spell over the demon and Dawn. The four figures on the ground fought to see through the bright light to who or what was there. When the glow dissipated, they got the shock of their lives.

* * *

This was different, better, amazing, Illyria simply didn't have words to describe as Xander's arms wound round her body and he continued to kiss her. When she had tried this with Spike, it was not unpleasant but she felt very little at all. Somehow this experience was having a very strange affect on her body. Every inch of her skin tingled like electric currents were running beneath the surface, the heat in her blood rose, and she swore if Xander were not holding her up she'd have lost the ability to stay on her feet. The loss of control, far from unpleasant was incredible to her, a minor miracle considering how usually she liked to be in charge of all situations.

When Xander's lips left hers Illyria was gasping for air, but smiling like an idiot.

"That was... not unpleasant to me" she admitted, in no hurry to have him let go of her yet, "What is your opinion?" she asked him.

"Yeah" Xander nodded, amused by her manner, head still spinning from the experience of kissing her for so long, "That's in no way of the bad"

"I..." Illyria began to speak again but stopped abruptly as something in her head felt odd, and not in the way of the pleasant sensations she'd been experiencing a moment ago, "Something is wrong" she said suddenly, her body convulsing as her hands went to her head. Xander lost his grip on her as she reeled back against the wall and slid to her knees, clearly in pain.

"Illyria?" he said, kneeling by her side, trying to find out what was wrong as she closed her eyes and writhed in agony for a few more moments.

"It has passed" she said when she was finally still, touched by the concern she saw when she looked up into Xander's eyes, "It was merely a vision" she told him.

"Wow" was all he could say to that, "And here was me thinking I was just a little too good at the kissage"

Illyria smiled feintly at that as she attempted to get to her feet and he helped her to do so.

"We must go, or at least I must" she told him, still a little unsteady on her feet.

"What did you see?" Xander asked as she steadied herself and headed for the door.

"Something is attacking, where the demon is held" she explained, picking up the axe Xander had by the door in case of emergency, "I shall go and fight, but you must stay. The children must be protected"

"I... okay" he nodded, "but, you be careful, okay?" he said, looking worried about her condition still. Though she wouldn't admit it, Illyria hardly felt battle worthy right now but it was her job to do it, she needed to help.

"You too must be careful" she nodded as she opened the door, turning back just once before she left the apartment.

"And it was not just the vision that affected my balance" she admitted with a smile, "You are very good at kissing"

To Be Continued...


	18. Chapter 18

A/N : Thanx so much to my latest reviewers; spuffy-monica, Hellmouth2, Brunettepet, Spuffy2008, razzar, KelleyTheSelfToastablePopTart, funkydevil206, Ember91, and xpoisonedxangelx. You're all wonderful! So glad you're enjoying the X/I thing. It just kind of starting happening all by itself and it's a relief to know I'm not the only one that thinks it works! So who is the Big Bad? Is Davy evil? And who just bust into the warehouse interrupting Dawn's spell? All (well, actually only some) shall be revealed in the newest chapter of TMTD!  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 18

"Oh my God" Buffy gasped as she looked over at the figure in the doorway, bright light fading around her, "Oh, Willow!" she cried as she scrambled to her feet and hurried over to her best friend.

"Hey Buff" the red-head smiled, hugging the Slayer tight, "It's been too long" she said, not yet releasing her friend as tears came to both their eyes.

"I can't believe you're here" Buffy shook her head as they finally pulled apart, "Nobody knew where you were"

"Oh come on" Willow smiled, "You thought you could have a Scooby reunion without me?"

"Wouldn't dream of it, Red" Spike told her as he stepped up behind Buffy.

"Spike" she greeted him with a grin and more surprisingly to him a hug, "I heard you were back. It's so good to see you"

"You too, Wicca" he said, still a little startled by her sudden wish to greet him quite so physically.

Dawn, Giles, and Andrew were soon taking turns at hugging the witch and then Buffy had a question.

"Not that it's not great to see you Will, but how come you're suddenly here? I mean, how did you know we were even here?"

"Got me some friends in the high places these days y'know" her friend told her proudly, "The witches at the coven in England that Giles took me to before was just the beginning" she explained, "That coven is connected to others, so many powerful women, witches and seers... I met up with some in Brazil when I was there with... well, when I was there" she said, looking momentarily pained before continuing, "I realised there was still so much I could learn, and I was a little lost after Sunnydale, trying to find my purpose. Anyway" she said, "long story short I was studying in the Himalayas, trying out some theories about astral projection, when I came down I got word that Angel was trying to call me"

"About Fred" Spike nodded as he recalled it.

"Yeah" Willow nodded sadly, "I felt awful when I realised what had happened. Some of the ladies from the coven knew about Illyria's resurrection, they explained it all to me... I also know she's not evil now, what the Powers did for her and you, Spike"

"Know a bloody lot for absentee-girl" he smirked and Willow smiled back at him.

"I wasn't so absent" she told him and the rest of the gang too, "It's all connected, right, Giles?" she glanced at the Watcher, "I learnt a little something from the Seer's I was hangin' with and they helped me. I pretty much know the whole sitch"

"Everything?" Buffy asked, looking a little worried. Since Xander was here already, that only left Will not knowing about her children.

"Oh you mean your two little mini-Buffys?" Willow smiled, "Uh-huh, I know. I also know that demon boy here tried to take them from you and would have succeeded if not for Spike and your new pal Illyria"

"Speaking of" Dawn said, noticing the ex-goddess approaching. She swung her axe as she came through the door, aiming for Willow's back.

"Lyri, no!" Spike yelled, but he was too late. The witch however had faster reactions.

"Obrigesco!" she commanded, throwing an arm around. The axe froze in place though Illyria was still free to move and did so, going to the floor and rolling back onto her feet, giving Willow a scathing look.

"Nice entrance" the red-head told her, "but y'know throwing axes at your fight partner's girlfriend's best friend, kinda not a good first impression from here"

"I do not understand" Illyria said, glancing at Spike and Buffy then back at Willow, not yet shifting from her fighting stance.

"Illyria, this is Willow" Giles introduced the two women, "She is a good friend of ours, and also a witch as you may have noticed"

"Willow" the ex-god echoed as she relaxed a little, "Your friends have spoken of you, you are a valuable asset to many I believe"

"I like to think so" Willow grinned, "And I hear we kinda need to get with the magicky goodness with your new demon buddy over here, right?"

She walked over to the still demon by the opposite wall and Dawn, Andrew and Giles joined her. Buffy and Spike held back as Illyria stared after the other three.

"You alright, luv?" the ex-vamp asked his friend as she tilted her head in her own strange manner.

"I do not understand" she admitted, "I received a vision, a bright light here, and then a figure of evil" she explained, "I arrived and attacked as I felt I should, and yet there was no danger, only your friend, the witch"

"That is weird" Buffy frowned, "There's gotta be a rational explanation for that though, right? I mean Will isn't evil again, I would totally be able to tell"

"If she's bloody evil I'm the Queen of England" Spike scoffed.

"He's right" Buffy nodded, barely containing a smile "He'd look awful in a tiara"

"Cheeky bint" he shot at her, though he was smiling too.

"I believe someone is playing with me" Illyria told them, interrupting their sweet bantery moment, "The vision was more painful that it should have been and I cannot go back" she frowned. Buffy glanced at Spike not understanding.

"When she has a vision it's sort of like a little movie in her head" he explained, "But after, for a while at least, she can concentrate and pull still pictures back into her mind... That not happenin' this time, pet?" he checked with Illyria who shook her head in confusion.

"Er, guys?" Willow called across to them, "Dawnie was fillin' me in on the whole spell deal. Want me to try it?"

"Sure, Will, that'd be good" Buffy answered absently, "Maybe the demon knows why your visions are going all wonky too?" she suggested to Illyria, "Could be all connected?"

"You find out" Spike nodded, "I'm going back to the apartment. If somethin' other than the Powers wanted you here, could be a trap. Not leavin'our kids to get... Not leavin' them" he told Buffy, kissing her cheek before leaving in a hurry.

"I should follow him" Illyria considered, but Buffy's hand on her arm prevented it.

"You don't look like you should be fighting right now" the Slayer pointed out, "You feel okay?"

"Not entirely" the other woman admitted, "My head still spins a little, my legs do not feel quite adequate to hold me but that may be because... Is this a normal reaction when one you desire kisses you?"

"Er, I don't..." Buffy mumbled, "Did you...?"

"Xander and I, we tested out a theory that I had" Illyria explained, "I believe we have feelings for each other that require to be explored"

"Huh" was all Buffy could find to say in response. That was really not what she'd been expecting, though considering Xander's track record with both demons/ex-demons and also out-spoken women, it should not be so wholly surprising that he and Illyria might have feelings for each other.

"It bothers you, perhaps?" the girl with the blue streaked hair challenged.

"No way, nuh-huh, whole world of not" Buffy assured her overly much, "It's just not what I expected, I guess"

Illyria glanced over at the four people gathered around the motionless demon on the ground.

"We have more important things to attend to" she realised, "Do you wish me to stay, or follow Spike?"

"Whatever you wanna do is fine with me" Buffy told her, "and for the record, all I want for Xander is happiness. You think you two could have something, it's all good"

"Thankyou, Buffy" Illyria smiled, "I have often told Spike that I wish him to be happy too. I knew this would not happen until he found you" she said as she turned to leave, "I shall see you later, I am sure"

"You will" the Slayer called behind her before walking back across the room to her friends, "So, what's the what?" she asked them.

"I'm gonna try a little hyped up version of the spell" Willow told her, "Not that Dawnie didn't do a great job but..."

"But you'll do better" the younger Summers rolled her eyes and smiled, "Don't worry Willow, I'm not offended. You're the real Wiccan WonderWoman, I'm just the magically-challenged Diana Prince Wannabe" she sighed, as Andrew squeezed her hand and grinned at her comic book reference. Buffy shuddered involuntarily - that was just disturbing.

"Okay, so spell time" Willow announced, preparing herself for the magick moment. She began to incant something a little more complex than Dawn had used, her eyes getting darker as she concentrated on the demon at her feet. All going well, he'd be telling them everything he knew and more within moments.

* * *

The knock on the door made Xander jump. Illyria had inadvertently taken his only weapon and how he was going to protect the kids should anyone or anything attack was beyond him.

"Oi Xander!" Spike called through the door, "Let me the hell in, Whelp!" he told him as he knocked for a third time, becoming increasingly impatient.

"Oh, it's you" the brunette sighed as he opened the door and let the ex-vamp in.

"You were expecting, who? The bleedin' tooth fairy?" Spike smirked, "You get any jumpier mate, you'll hit the ceiling. How are the Little Bits?" he checked next.

"They're good, sleeping mostly" Xander told him "although I doubt that'll last too much longer. What happened with the demon?"

"Not much yet" Spike explained, "Though you might like to know your little red witch is in town"

"Wills is here?" the boy grinned stupidly and Spike almost laughed.

"Yeah, whippin' up a little mojo to get demon boy talkin'" he explained, "Seems someone's messing with Lyri's head though. That vision she had of us being attacked was a fake, the only grand entrance was Willow"

"Is she okay?" Xander checked, "Illyria, I mean?"

"I am fine" she answered from the still open door, "Though your concern is appreciated" she smiled at him and Spike saw a look pass between them.

"I, er, reckon I'll check on the kids" he smirked, heading in the direction of the bedroom, "Leave you two to be alone"

Illyria waited until he was gone before speaking again.

"I believe he knows what we have done" she told Xander as he came across the room towards her.

"What exactly have we done?" he wanted to know, "I mean yeah, there was kissage and that's great but... that something you see us doing again sometime?"

"No" he was stunned by her answer and very disappointed until a smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth and she continued, "Not sometime" she told him, "With such dangers at every turn, I believe we should repeat our pleasure now" she smiled, pulling him forward by his shirt and putting her lips to his.

Spike smirked from this spot behind the bedroom door.

"Seems Uncle Xander and Aunt Lyri have found a new game to play kids" he told the two babies as their stirred in their cribs, "'S not exactly what I expected to happen when I came here, but then you two have to have been my biggest surprise" he sighed, "Gotta say though, not hating the idea of fatherhood. Your Mum and me, well it's complicated between us at best, but as soon as we figure out why some nasty bugg...person is after you" he amended, trying not to curse in front of the kids, "and I promise that we will, I'm gonna do my best to make things work with the Slayer" he assured them, "I want this, the family thing, I want Buffy so much it hurts, and you two... you're my icing on the cake, Sweet Bits" he smiled, leaning over Ellie's crib to straighten the covers over her.

Whatever else happened everything was going to work out here, Spike didn't just want it to be true, he knew it was. He felt it deep inside him, like instinct or something. He belonged with Buffy and the kids, and nobody was going to take that destiny away from him.

* * *

"Tell us what we want to know, from your lips only truth must flow" Willow ended the English part of her chant and the demon at her feet stared at her with steely eyes.

"Ask it what you want to know" the witch told Buffy, "He can't lie, and the answer will come so you understand it"

"Tell us who your Master is" the Slayer said to the still demon.

"Her name is never spoken" said an English speaking voice, clearly coming from the demon, though it's lips never moved, "I know her only as The True Chosen" he answered.

"Why does she want my kids?" Buffy asked next, trying to keep her emotions in check as she spoke of her babies who's lives were apparently in danger.

"Their blood is potent, it holds great power" the demon went on, "Power that my Master believes should be her own"

"What does all this have to do with Davy?" Buffy asked with a shake in her voice. The danger she and Spike and the children were in was the biggest deal but they could handle all that, she was sure of it, they always did. She still needed to know if a man she had some feelings for at least had betrayed her and never really loved her at all.

"You speak of The Instrument" the demon realised, "That is all he was. He fulfilled his function, almost completely. He is no longer of use to my Master"

"What does that mean?" Dawn asked glancing at her sister, her eyes going wide as Buffy brought her sword down on the demons head, splitting it in two. Tears welled in the Slayers eyes as she looked at her shocked friends.

"It means he never really loved me" she said flatly, "and that he's probably dead"

To Be Continued...


	19. Chapter 19

A/N : I don't know how much longer it's gonna take for me to get to an end with this story. Several chapters yet I think as we have this whole True Chosen debacle to fix and then a happy Spuffy ending of course, cos I would never let you guys down on that score. Anywho, thanx to the latest reviewers - spuffy-monica, Spuffy2008, Brunettepet, funkydevil206, LiLi, Sandra, Ember91, and Moluvsnumber - you rock as always.  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 19

A knock on the door startled Illyria and Xander from their kissing and brought Spike running from the kids bedroom.

"Who the bloody hell is that?" he asked, grabbing up his sword and making sure his friends were well armed too.

"Whoever it is will be met with caution" Illyria said, stepping towards the door and listening for some clue of who or what might be on the other side. Another knock was all she heard and then the frantic mutterings of a strangely familiar voice.

"It is a man" she frowned slightly as she turned back to Spike and Xander, "I believe it may be the one who gave Buffy her ring"

"But he's evil, right?" Xander checked, "Or possibly not. How are we supposed to know?"

"No way to for sure" Spike said with a shake of his head, "Plan on findin' out though" he said as he pushed past Illyria and stood by the door.

In one swift movement he opened it, grabbed the man on the other side by the throat, hauled him inside and pinned him against the wall. Davy yelped as a sword was pointed towards his gut.

"Don't think we were properly introduced, mate" Spike smirked, "Name's Spike, good mate of Buffy's, bloody in love with her if you must know, so you see I don't take too kindly to hearin' you might have been upsetting the lady in question"

"I never meant to" Davy grimaced as the tip of the sword grazed his stomach on every breath, "I..I like Buffy, I do, I never wanted to hurt her"

"You never wanted to" Xander echoed, "But you did it anyway?"

"I had to, you don't understand" Davy tried to tell them, Spike's gaze never wavered and the hand holding the sword never shifted, not even a fraction.

"Then make me understand" the ex-vampire almost growled as he pulled the other man off the wall and flung him onto the couch. Putting one booted foot up on the coffee table, Spike leaned his weight forward, sword still aimed at Davy though from further back now.

"Here's the plan, junior" he said as Illyria and Xander stood either side of him, looking almost just as menacing as the bleached blond, "You are going to tell me everything you know about the ugly-ass demon that's after Buffy's and my kids and you're gonna do it now, and if I get the tiniest hint of a lie coming from you, well, it's a long time since I was evil and used torture but where those I love are concerned..." he left the threat hanging as an almost-evil smirk came over his face. Davy's eyes shifted nervously to Xander who explained.

"Oh you're gonna be julienned real nice if don't you talk fast" he said simply, knowing Spike wasn't playing around, and that he himself would get very angry if this guy didn't do as he was told so the Buffster and the kids could be saved.

"I'll talk, I will" Davy assured them, "but if you don't like what you hear, you're not gonna... slice me, are you?" he asked nervously.

"Begin your story!" Illyria demanded, "Or I'll shall grow bored and commence cutting your flesh simply for the purpose of my own amusement" she said menacingly and Davy swallowed hard.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you..."

* * *

"Uh, was killing the demon the best plan?" Dawn said as she peered over the remains of said creature, the contents of it's head spilling out on the ground near her feet, "I mean, how do we get info now?"

"I don't know, sweetie" Willow shook her head, glancing between the demon carcass and her best friend as she stood at the other side of the building with her back to the rest.

"Buffy?" Giles called as he approached her, "Buffy, are you quite alright?" he checked as he reached her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I did a stupid thing, didn't I?" the Slayer said, not moving still.

"Well, perhaps the destruction of the demon was a little hasty given that he could have given us so much more information" her Watcher sighed, "but you were upset and..."

"No" Buffy interrupted, "I didn't mean... I meant with Davy, trusting him, loving him even. That was my stupid thing, thinking it could be so easy, that somebody could love me..." she felt so silly for getting teary about it. She had Spike and her kids and all her friends, it shouldn't matter that Davy had betrayed her, not really. In her heart she knew she would have broken it off with him when all this was over anyway, but it still hurt to know of his betrayal, to know he probably didn't care about her at all.

"Buffy, I know you're hurting" Giles said gently, "but there is more at stake here than you seem to realise" he explained, "Whoever or whatever this Davy is, he is not the leader of this plot to take the children. He and the demon have a master of some kind, and I fear if we do not find her and destroy her, Eloise and Chloe may still be in very great danger"

Suddenly, with a deep breath, Buffy turned to face her friends once again. Her full General mode from last year took over as she addressed them one by one.

"Okay, this thing has a boss" she said, tipping her weapon towards the dead demon, "Giles, Andrew, do some research. Look up anything that could maybe control a thing this powerful, any obvious connections" she told them, "Willow, think you could work up some mojo, maybe cloak this thing or whatever so nobody finds it?"

"Sure" the red head nodded, "Could use a hand maybe, Dawnie?" she said turning to the younger Summers who said she was happy to stay and help the witch.

"Okay" Buffy agreed, "I'll head back to the apartment, check on the others. We meet back there tonight"

"Er, what about Davy?" Andrew squeaked, almost too scared to mention his name, "I mean, if he's more Lex Luthor than Clark Kent, shouldn't we research him too"

Buffy seemed to consider the idea for a moment and Giles added his own opinion.

"We could check the public records" he suggested, "Check his family history and so forth"

"His Mom was a Watcher" Buffy told them, "Her name is Mary, she was Watcher to an Italian Slayer in the seventies, that's all I know" she shrugged, "Might be a place to start"

Giles nodded as he and Andrew left, though the Watcher was wondering if all Davy had told Buffy was a lie. He certainly didn't remember an Italian Slayer in the seventies, but then some didn't live as long as others...

Leaving her friend and sister to perform the necessary spells on the dead demon, Buffy headed back towards her apartment, not realising she was in for a shock when she got there.

* * *

"You think he's lying?" Xander asked Spike as they stood across the room from Davy. Illyria was still standing over him, axe in hand should he decide to do anything stupid.

"I dunno, mate" the bleached blond admitted, "I don't wanna take any chances with him but you really think that quaking heap could be the mastermind behind a plan like that?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not so much" Xander admitted, "but this Master chick sounds like she's all five fruity flavours of crazy"

"Yeah well, dealt with the psycho type before" Spike told him, "Reckon I can handle another, even if she is a little more demony that she ought to be"

"What're you gonna tell Buffy?" the brunette wanted to know and as the ex-vamp opened his mouth to answer the very woman appeared behind him.

"What're you going to tell me about what?" she checked as she came through the door, heading for her friends until she noticed Davy on the couch and Illyria standing over him.

"Buffy" he said uncertainly, wondering whether he should be relieved or more worried by her presence.

"Don't talk to me" she said, shaking her head as she covered the rest of the distance between them and stood at Spike's side, "Why is he here?" she asked, all business-like. Spike saw the pain in her eyes and just wanted to hug her but this wasn't the time, she was the Slayer right now, nothing else.

"Came lookin' for you I reckon, we sort of intervened" he smirked, "Got the whole story out of him, Slayer, he's not the big threat"

"The demon's master is his master too" Xander chipped in, "and it's not so much an it as a she"

"He, she, it, whatever" Buffy shrugged, "She's a demon and she's after our kids, so she's going down" she said, sharing a serious look with Spike.

"I'm right there with you, luv, always" he assured her, "but it's not as simple as the demon aspect... Buffy, she's a vampire but not like the rest"

"They all dust the same when they get staked, Spike" she reminded him, "Even the Chaka Khans or whatever the proper name was for those Uber-thingies"

"Turok-hans, luv" he smirked at her unintentionally humorous mistake.

"This girl wasn't exactly your average chica, Buff" Xander explained, "even before the vampyness"

"Xander, you of all people know I hate riddles" Buffy sighed, "Tell me what's so special about this Master vampy skank"

Spike took a breath, looking down and then up at her before he answered.

"She was a Slayer, pet" he told her at last, "Only one I ever heard of that got turned"

Buffy didn't have an immediate answer to that.

* * *

"So, you and Andrew, huh?" Willow smiled as she and Dawn headed back towards the apartment, the sun rising and bathing the beautiful city in pink and gold. The demon's body had been cloaked from sight, their work for the moment was done, and they had some catching up to do.

"Yeah, me and Andrew" the brunette smiled almost shyly, "I know that probably seems weird to you but, he's a total sweetie, and he loves me a lot. I love him too"

"I always wondered about you two" Willow admitted, "The little smiles across the table when we were talking battle plans, and how you were the only one he ever let touch his markers or his big board" she giggled.

Dawn when a little red and hid behind her hair. When she appeared again she looked more serious.

"Did things not go well with Kennedy?" she asked carefully, mindful of upsetting the witch.

"She... well, we kinda drifted I guess" the red-head explained, looking mostly at her feet, "We needed each other, back in Sunnydale, with the fighting and all, but I... I don't know if I can explain"

"You don't have to" Dawn told her with a quick shake of her head, "If it hurts or whatever"

"No, it's not..." Willow sighed, "I just think maybe I was looking for something that wasn't there or something to take my mind off what wasn't there" she smiled sadly.

"Tara?" Dawn guessed.

"There's never going to be another one like her" the red-head said as she looked out at the sky, "But what I think I realised was, that's okay" she nodded firmly, "If there was more than one, she wouldn't be half so special, and I like that she'll always be special. She'll always be my girl" she smiled, looking to Dawn who did the same.

"I get that, that's nice"

They climbed the stairs of the apartment block, up to where the Summers girls all lived, and where their friends were waiting. They had no clue of the story that waited for them too, the true tale of an old vampire slayer who wasn't quite as dead as she ought to have been.

To Be Continued...


	20. Chapter 20

A/N : Thanx to; spuffy-monica, Spuffy2008, KelleyTheSelfToastablePopTart, sandra, Ember91, Hellmouth2, Brunettepet, Moluvsnumber17, and kim, for the latest reviews.  
_(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)_

Chapter 20

A Slayer, a fellow sister in arms, was the enemy this time around. Buffy was having trouble taking it all in. Not only was it another woman of her own kind that was trying to take her children by sending a demon after her and setting her up with a man she thought she loved, but this Slayer was more than a little crazy and apparently a vampire. There were so many questions running round Buffy's head right now and she just couldn't get them into enough of an order to get them out properly.

"What...? How did...? I don't..." she rambled some until she finally settled on on person to speak to and one thing to say, "You" she snapped, stalking over to take Illyria's place leaning over Davy, "Who is she? This Slayer, how are you connected?"

"She... she was my mother's charge, years ago" he stammered, feeling very intimidated by a woman that he had claimed to love for so long, "We thought she was dead but she came back"

"Right, she got turned" Spike nodded, "We got that part already Sparky, time to cough up the real goods for the Slayer now" he told him.

"This Master of yours got a name?" Buffy asked with a icy glare and Davy nodded.

"Luisa" he told her, "Luisa Vincenzi, she was called in 1977 and died the same year" he explained, "My mother was her Watcher"

"Mary talked about her..." Buffy remembered, "but she never mentioned that she got turned!" she snapped.

"She didn't know" Davy assured her, "None of us did, for years we thought she was just dead but then she returned... the day I met you"

A knock on the door took the attention of the room off the shaking mortal and Illyria strode over to answer and see who was there. Willow and Dawn were startled by the glaring ice blue eyes that met their entrance.

"Geez, Illyria" Dawn breathed, "Scary glare, much?" she said as she and Willow came into the apartment that was filling up fast.

"What's happening?" the red-head frowned as she saw the nervous looking brunette on the couch and her friends' expressions of badness.

"We know what the Master thing is" Xander told her, "She's a Vampire Slayer"

"Oh, but thats kind of a good thing, right?" Dawn chipped in, "I mean, if she's like you Buffy she's beatable, just another Slayer, nothing big and scary?"

"'S not that simple, Bit" Spike shook his head, "When Xander here says Vampire Slayer, he means Slayer that's been vamped. She could be stronger than me and your sister"

Suddenly the children awoke in the next room and cried out for their parents. Buffy asked Illyria to watch over Davy whilst she went to her kids and Spike was quick to follow his woman. Once inside Ellie and Chloe's bedroom he shut the door so it was just the four of them.

"Come on, sweetie" Buffy told Chloe as she picked her up and held her close, "I guess you're getting pretty hungry"

"You too, eh pet?" Spike smiled at baby Ellie as he lifted her from the cot and held her the same way.

The two little girls were soon calm in the embrace of their parents and despite all the badness that waited beyond the door, Buffy and Spike could not help but love this little moment, just them and the kids, a family like they ought to be. As he glanced at her Spike realised Buffy was thinking the same thing he was, but when tears ran down her cheeks and she held the child in her arms tighter he sensed her fear of losing all this too.

"Slayer, it'll be alright y'know" he told her, holding Ellie with just one arm so he could hold Buffy with the other, "We get rid of this evil chit and then it'll always be like this, you, me and the Little Bits"

"I wish it were that simple, Spike" Buffy said, swallowing hard, "but when has anything ever worked out for us?"

"Now listen here, Buffy Anne Summers" he snapped almost angrily, looking her right in the eye, "You can stop with the defeatist attitude right now, cos we're gonna get through this, all four of us, the gang too. This girl, she can't be any tougher than what we've faced before, and we've got the Powers on our side, must have, what with me being back here with you and all"

Buffy shook her head.

"I know the Powers That Be brought you back, and maybe they are on our side but, Spike, this girl, this thing she's become, you have no idea how strong she is" she told him.

"And you do?" he frowned, sensing there was something he was missing here.

"I was her once" Buffy began to explain, "Or at least I was in her position once, kind of" she sighed when she realised her explanation wasn't coming out at all right so she started over, "There was a thing happened in Sunnydale, years ago now, before I even met you" she told a confused Spike, "A boy got beaten by his little league coach and something Hellmouthy happened, it made everybody's worst nightmares come true..." she winced at the horrific memories, despite all she'd faced in her life since then, her real life nightmare still filled her with the most dread, "For as long as the effects lasted, I was a vampire" she admitted.

"Bloody hell" Spike exclaimed, not really knowing what else to say.

"Yeah, well, it only lasted a little while" Buffy shrugged, "Just a few hours but I was what she is, Spike, a true Vampire/Slayer. The power that flowed through me was so intense... and this girl's had almost thirty years to get real messed up psychologically, I don't wanna imagine how strong she could be, not to mention crazy"

Eloise wriggled in Spike's arms taking some of his attention from the situation at hand. He glanced back at the window and saw it was daylight outside, the sun had risen fast

"Look, luv" he said to Buffy, "the Bits need feeding and looking after. With demon boy taken care of, your traitorous ex under the watchful eye of Lyri and the others, and the sun up like it will be for the next twelve hours at least, reckon we're safe for a while" he told her.

"I guess" Buffy nodded, "We should deal with the kids, get everybody ready, make battle plans..." she rattled off one thing after another not looking as coherent as she might as she went towards the bedroom door.

"Buffy" Spike reached his spare hand out to her arm and stopped her leaving for a moment. As she turned around he put his lips to hers and kissed her soundly, "We'll be okay, all of us. Got it?" he said firmly, not letting her go until she nodded her agreement and forced half a smile for him.

"That's my girl" he smirked as they left the bedroom with their kids still in their arms.

* * *

"Where is he?" Luisa demanded, "Where is he! Where is HE!" she bellowed, sweeping her arms across the shelves and bringing all the books and ornaments crashing to the floor.

"I don't know" Mary told her, trying to be strong, but shaking violently with fear, "Luisa, please, spare my boy. He has done nothing to you"

The Vampire/Slayer cackled with maniacal laughter at that as she turned to face her old Watcher.

"Nothing to me?" she scoffed, "He has hurt me, I depise his existence, as I despise you!" she said angrily, grabbing Mary by the hair as she got up in her face, "I am what I have become because of you, people like you!"

"No, Luisa" Mary would have shook her head if she were able, "The Watchers Council were good people, I was here to guide you when you were called but we were not the ones that made you what you are. It was your destiny to be a Slayer"

"And was it my destiny to die as I did!" she demanded to know, "Was it my privilege to be killed at the age of seventeen?" she cried, "Was it my birthright to have the very life drained from me, and lose the child I carried!"

"Luisa, I am sorry" Mary cried too, for all the good it did.

Vamping out, Luisa pushed the older woman away violently and raged as if she were in terrible pain.

"I am not Luisa!" she screamed, "I am Optimum Verus, the True Chosen, and I will have what is mine!"

* * *

"Optimum Verus?" Spike echoed as Xander helped Illyria up from the floor. Her vision had caught her of guard and she'd fallen to the ground in severe pain, pictures flashing behind her eyes so fast she could barely make them out, but two words rang through clear as a bell. She'd muttered them over and over til the vision subsided and no-one really understood them.

"Sounds like Latin" Willow pointed out, "but I wouldn't know what it means" she shook her head, "I can pronounce stuff for spells but translation would definitely be a Giles thing"

"You okay?" Xander checked as he handed a glass of water to Illyria, tenderly brushing her hair off her face.

"I shall be quite well" she assured him, "My only concern is the danger I felt within my vision" she explained, looking over at Spike and Buffy, "Whatever it is that bears the Latin name, she is getting closer to her goal"

"It has to be Luisa, right?" Dawn guessed, "Do you think Davy would know if it was?"

Buffy looked towards the bathroom where they had her 'fiancé' held captive. They hadn't been sure what to do with him, no way of knowing how strong he might really be or what might happen if he got away. The irony was not lost on Spike as he chained the bugger into the bath tub. He'd have laughed about it had the situation not been so serious.

"I can't deal with him" the Slayer admitted, "and anyway, Giles and Andrew won't be much longer, they can probably tell us more" she said.

They'd called Andrew's cell an hour ago to update him and Giles on what they knew. The two men had promised to be back as soon as they could, complete with all the info they currently had and any more books and manuscripts that might prove of use.

"Better hurry it up" Spike sighed, glancing out of the window and then down at his watch, "Don't want to worry anybody but if we don't have a plan before the sun goes down..."

"We will have a plan by then" Buffy said firmly, "We can't afford not to" she realised as she looked down at her giggling daughters playing on the rug, their lives literally depended on it.

The Slayer was pulled from her thoughts by Giles and Andrew being let into the apartment, a pile of papers and books each in their arms which were quickly stacked on the table.

"What do we know?" Buffy asked her Watcher and her friend as the group all gathered to hear the answer.

"We found records, Watchers Diaries and other stuff about Luisa Vincenzi" Andrew explained, "Basically she was called on July 29th 1977, her Watcher was Mary Fisher as you know. Luisa was the Slayer for almost six months when she was killed by vampires" he went on, "Twist is, she wasn't murdered, she was sired, by Yoda knows who, and the scary part is, she was pregnant at the time"

"What does that mean?" Buffy asked, her face having gone ashen as what she was being told sunk in, "I mean, did she have a vampire baby or...?"

"No, no" Giles shook his head, "A vampire's body is dead and therefore not condusive with either keeping a child alive or indeed giving birth to it. The child would've died when Luisa did and whilst she was brought back as a vampire, the baby would almost definitely have been left dead"

"That's awful" Dawn gasped, feeling sick to her stomach. She could only imagine what Buffy must be feeling. It would've been so easy for something bad to have happened to her during her pregnancy... Dawn couldn't bear to finish that particular thought.

"So, because her kid is dead, she wants ours?" Buffy guessed, glancing between Spike and her Watcher.

"I think there may be more to it than that" Giles explained, reaching into the pile of books he'd brought in and pulling out a piece of paper with scribbled writing all over it, "I copied this from a photograph of an ancient scroll that has long since been destroyed" he explained as Spike took the page form his hand, "I copied it because it mentioned the Chosen, and offspring, I made the connection with you, Buffy, and thought it might mean something..."

"Blood of the Chosen, both black and white, bring forth the offspring in purest light. Life from beyond, and blood of the true, shall live ever after, in the world of the new" Spike read aloud, frowning slightly as he tried to figure out what it all meant.

"Blood of the Chosen? I guess that's you, Buff?" Xander told her.

"And I s'pose offspring'd be the little ones" Spike added.

"Indeed" Giles nodded, "I do believe the first line is simply saying that the two of you would have your children" he explained, "since Buffy is indeed Chosen and she and Spike came from opposite sides originally, the black and the white"

"I came back from the beyond too" the ex-vampire pointed out, "Reckon that's what this bits about?" he checked, putting the paper on the table and pointing to the beginning of the second line as the gang gathered to see.

"So, so far we have Buffy and Spike got together and made babies 'in purest light', whatever that means, then Spike came back, and they're gonna live happily ever after?" Dawn assumed.

"I guess" Andrew agreed, "I mean, the world of the new could be cos we made all those other Slayers, kinda like a new world now?"

"I get it" Buffy said suddenly catching everyone's attention, "Finally" she actually laughed as he said it, "I finally get how Ellie and Chloe got here" she smiled as she looked over at Spike.

"That night" she reminded him, "When we... were together, the amulet was on the bed"

"It was" he agreed remembering the scene in beautiful detail, "Sort of forgot about it when we were... otherwise engaged" he smirked, "but I don't see..."

"It was a force of good, of 'purest light'" she quoted, "The power from the amulet did something to us when we were together, Spike, it has to be that, it fulfilled the prophecy"

"Woah, hold on a sec" Xander said suddenly, "I'm figuring something out here" he told the assembled group, "You two had special Chosen kids, cos you're the big important Slayer and you were the vamp who sought out the soul, right?"

"I guess" Buffy agreed, not yet seeing where he was going with this.

"The other Slayer, Luisa, she was having a kid and she got turned" he went on, "A Slayer, a vampire, a baby... you think she thought her kid was gonna be big with the big miracle child-ness?"

"Oh yes" Giles nodded, "That would make a lot of sense, and go some way to explaining her psychotic obsession with the children"

"I don't care" Buffy shook her head, "Whatever her reason is for wanting our kids, she's not getting them" she said firmly, "You can send demons after me, set me up with a fake fiancé, that I can deal with, but nobody is going to harm our babies" she said, looking at Spike who nodded in agreement.

"Too true, luv" he told her, "The bitch is going down"

To Be Continued...


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N : Thanx to my latest reviewers; spuffy-monica, KelleyTheSelfToastablePopTart, Brunettepet, Spuffy2008, kim, and amytherat, to whom I also want to say Happy Birthday.  
This chapter is a little different, but I hope you still like it. Let's do the time warp again... ;-)  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 21

_Location : Rome, Italy  
__Time : July 31st 1977 20:34_

"Luisa? Luisa Vincenzi?" an older English woman asked as the young Italian girl turned around at the sound of her name.

"Who are you?" she asked worriedly, "How do you know my name?"

"There is no need for alarm, Luisa" she was assured by the kindly looking woman, "I am here to help you" she assured her as the waitress backed up further, "My name is Mary Fisher, and I have important news for you. Is there somewhere we might go to talk?"

Thinking she was perfectly safe whilst she was surrounded by so many people, Luisa told her friend she was taking her break now and led Mary over to a table at the back of the cafe.

"What do you want to tell me?" she asked immediately they sat down.

"Luisa, you must promise me you will remain calm as I explain myself" Mary told her, "I imagine you have had some rather frightening dreams the last two nights or more" she guessed, her suspicions confirmed by the young girls surprised expression, "I am here to tell you what those dreams mean, Luisa, to explain to you that the creatures you saw whilst you slept, the vampires and demons, they are real"

"This cannot be" she protested, "Monsters like these do not exist in real life"

"Indeed they do" Mary told her firmly, "Vampires in particular walk amongst us in the night, so dangerous since they are so difficult to detect, but I digress" she shook her head, "I am here to tell you of a long line of warriors, that all started with one girl. She was Chosen to fight the demons and the vampires, and keep a balance on Earth. When one Slayer dies another rises and so it has always been" she said as gently as she could, "Luisa, the latest Slayer was killed two days ago, by a vampire that overpowered her, and the new Slayer was activated. It is you, my dear"

* * *

_Location : Rome, Italy  
__Time : September 24th 1977 19:47_

"Mary?" Luisa called as she let herself into the apartment. Her Watcher immediately sprang apart from the man she shared the couch with, their passionate kissing completely interrupted by the entry of the Slayer.

"Oh, Luisa" Mary gasped, "It is you... er, you remember my friend, Marco, do you not?" she said with a nervous smile as she straightened her blouse and hair.

"Good afternoon, Senor di Luigi" the Slayer said politely, a smirk tugging at her lips as the man returned her greeting and shot up from the sofa like a scalded cat. He whispered something to Mary before saying he must be going, squeezing past Luisa and out of the door, closing it behind him.

"I did not mean to interrupt" the young girl apologised, "but I had something I needed to speak to you about" she admitted, looking altogether too serious.

"What is it, my dear?" Mary asked with concern, gesturing that she should come and sit down beside her. Over the past weeks the two young women had become more than just Watcher and Slayer to each other, but good friends and right now Luisa needed a friend.

"I went out with Gianni again last night" she admitted, looking down at her hand in her lap, "He is so wonderful, Mary, and I love him so much. He took me back to his apartment and he told me I was beautiful. He promised that he would always love me and that all he wanted to do was show me how much..." she couldn't say anymore and she certainly couldn't look at her Watcher right now.

"You spent the night with him" Mary guessed, "You and Gianni, you made love, didn't you?"

"We did" Luisa admitted, looking so guilty, "I am so sorry, Mary, truly I am" she began to apologise and her Watcher could not understand it at all.

"My dear, it is not my place to judge you on such matters" she said kindly, "If you love him truly and believe he feels the same there is no reason that you should not... be physical with each other" she said some what awkwardly.

"But Mary, you told me I must patrol the cemetery last night" she said guiltily, "I was so occupied with Gianni... we did not leave his apartment until it was light outside"

"Oh Luisa" Mary tried desperately not to laugh, as she hugged the poor girl to her, "Do not upset yourself" she told her, "One night will not make so much difference, I am not angry that you did not patrol" she assured her, "Indeed I must confess Marco has taken some of my time that I probably should have spent on work"

"You believe that love is more important than the work we do?" Luisa asked uncertainly as she pulled away.

"Love is more important than anything, my dear girl" Mary said with a smile, "Do you not agree?"

"I do" Luisa nodded firmly a grin spreading cross her face, "I love Gianni with all my heart and I know we will be together forever"

* * *

_Location : Rome, Italy  
__Time : November 6th 1977_ _23:17_

"Hush now, sweetheart, do not cry so" Mary said as she held Luisa to her and rubbed her back in an attempt to comfort her, "All will be well, I am certain"

"It cannot be well" Luisa sobbed and hiccuped, "Without Gianni nothing can ever be well again!" she wailed.

A vampire gang had attacked as they patrolled together. Gianni had learnt of Luisa's calling and far from being appalled or frightened, he was so proud of his girl and her gifts. He was quite the fighter himself and helped her with her patrols and training sessions when he could. Unfortunately he had not the strength and skill of a Slayer and had been captured by vampires as Luisa had fought for her own life. She got away with minimal cuts and bruises, but knew by now her lover was more than likely dead.

"It might not be too late" Mary told her, "We may be able to save him yet. A locator spell would show us where they have taken him and you know he is strong Luisa, Gianni may still be alive" she said positively, in reality knowing he most likely wouldn't have survived but also knowing that in her current state, Luisa was of no use as a Slayer.

"You truly believe he may be alive?" the younger girl sniffed, trying to wipe the tear from her face.

"Indeed" Mary half-lied, "but we must hurry. The vampires that took him must be found and destroyed"

Mary set about performing the spell whilst Luisa gathered her weapons and tried not to cry. Her anger would give her strength, her tears only made her weak, she told herself as she pulled the axe from her weapons chest and strapped it to her body. This was a dangerous mission, going into a possible nest of vampires alone. Whilst Mary could fight she was only mortal and could only do so much to help. It was up to Luisa to save her lover and then herself, not to mention another whom she had yet to mention to her Watcher.

"Mary?" she called across the room as the spell ended, "There is something you should know..." she said, her hand going subconsciously to her stomach. She had spoken so quietly and the Watcher was so intent on doing the spell and getting on with things she did not properly hear her and simply thrust a map into her hands.

"The burn mark here shows where they have taken him" she explained, "The caves beyond the woods. Such a spell as this tells us he is still alive, Luisa, it would not work it he were not"

For a moment the Slayer paused still considering whether to tell her Watcher about the baby she secretly carried, but if she did it was probable she would not be permitted to go into those caves with so much danger all around. Mary cared too much for her to let anything terrible happen.

"Then let us go" she said eventually, "We have no reason for hesitation" she lied as they took up their weapons and left the apartment.

* * *

_Location : Rome, Italy  
__Time : November 7th 1977_ _00:09_

"Luisa!" Mary screamed as another vampire lunged at her charge. For fully ten minutes they had been fighting, and still there was no sign of Gianni. No doubt he was being held at the back of the cave, forcing the Slayer and her Watcher to fight through all his captors in order to save him.

Another head rolled to the floor, turning the whole vampire to ash, another fell beside it as a stake pierced it's heart. One after the other the demons fell at the hands of the two incensed women, determined to win this fight. Alas it was too late as Luisa found when she reached the back of the cave. The body of her lover lie broken and cold. The vampires had tricked her somehow, made her believe she had something to fight for when she had not. If Gianni's life was gone hers might as well be too.

"He was not worthy, Slayer" said a voice behind her, but Luisa was stunned to the spot and could not react. The vampire slid it's arms around her body and pulled her to him, "I shall be worthy" he murmured as he vamped out, "You shall be mine" he told her as his fangs sunk into her neck.

"Luisa! No!" Mary yelled but to no avail. The young Slayers life was drained from her body and her Watcher was swiftly hit in the face, knocking her out and keeping her from making further noise.

"The mighty Slayer shall rise again" the evil being that had taken her life smirked, "Because I make it so" he added as he slashed his wrist on the girls sword and forced it to her mouth. Luisa's instincts told her to drink, though her mind could not properly process what was happening. Her unconscious Watcher had no idea that her charge's death would also be her rebirth, and for almost thirty years, she would live in ignorance.

* * *

_Location : Rome, Italy  
__Time : March 15th 2004, 20:34_

"Mama?" David di Luigi called as he let himself into the house, "I fetched the pasta from the store..." he trailed off, gasping in shock as he took in the scene. His mother and father were bound to chairs in the centre of the room, gags in their mouths so they could not speak.

"Oh my God" he said as he moved towards them but immediately a young girl blocked his path.

"So, this is the precious Davy I hear so much of" she smiled in sinister fashion as she put her hand to his face, "He is as beautiful as you said Mary, almost as beautiful as my own child would have been"

"Who are you?" Davy demanded to know, knocking the young woman's cold hand away. She looked vaguely familiar but he couldn't think why.

"I am an old friend of your mother, dear boy" she told him, "And you will do for me a favour, if you wish for us to remain friends"

"Mama?" her son asked her with a puzzled look as tears ran unchecked down Mary's face. The frightened look in her eyes told him this was no ordinary girl before him and the confusion he felt soon subsided as he realised where he'd seen her face before.

"The Slayer" he said softly, "You are the Slayer to whom my mother was Watcher... Luisa?"

The vampire let out an almighty scream as she back-handed poor Davy across the room.

"This is not my name!" she bellowed, "I am the True Chosen! You shall know it, and soon all shall know it!" Luisa yelled. In an instant she was calm again and it was disturbing how her anger came and went like someone flipping a switch.

"You, my boy, shall be the key, my instrument against she that would take my destiny" she explained, "And you will do as I tell you, if you wish to keep your life, and the lives of those you cherish" she smirked, glancing back at Mary and Marco.

"What would you have me do?" Davy asked nervously as he got up from the floor.

"Nothing you cannot handle" Luisa assured him as she moved towards him, carefully took his hand in hers and led him back across the room, "Something that will come quite easily to a man such as yourself" she smiled, seeming suddenly so normal and kind, "All I want you to do is find a girl, and win her heart" she said with a playful grin, "That cannot be so difficult for a beautiful specimen of a man as yourself, now can it?"

* * *

_Location : Rome, Italy  
__Time : October 27th 2005_ _14:29_

"She comes!" Luisa smirked, cackling like the evil creature she truly was, "She comes to find me, to kill me" she laughed, "Oh Mary, what a foolish creature this Slayer must be"

"Why do you do this?" her old Watcher cried, "Why must you make so many suffer for your loss?"

"I have no loss!" Luisa bellowed, "Only power! Power shall be mine, the power that was prophesied, that should have been mine!"

"The Prophecy of the Half Light does not speak of you..." Mary reminded her, only to receive a strike across her face for her trouble.

"Hold your noise, or I will hold it for you!" the Vampire/Slayer told her angrily, "I shall have what is mine. My revenge and my power" she muttered, "If the new Slayer must die at my hand for this to be, then let it be so. She will be no loss as my child was!"

_To Be Continued..._


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N : New chapter! Back in the present day now, and it's time for the big smack-down!  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 22

"This is the place" Davy said as the group stood outside an old disused house, "She'll be up there"

"Waiting for the sun to go down" Buffy nodded in understanding, "Only we don't have to and we won't. Element of surprise will play to our advantage" she told those who stood behind her.

Willow, Dawn, Andrew, and Giles had taken the children to the hotel at which the visitors were staying, just in case Luisa did get away somehow. Neither she or any of her minions would know where to look for them, and even if they got lucky, the girls were putting up a barrier whilst the guys were ready with weapons to protect little Eloise and Chloe. Meanwhile Buffy and Spike had brought Illyria and Xander with them, and Davy to guide them to Luisa's location.

"I know you owe me no favours, Buffy" Davy said as he turned to the Slayer, "but please save my mother, she has done nothing wrong, even less than I have done"

"It's my job to save the innocent, and it's what I'll do if I can" Buffy told him firmly, "You haven't helped your family by going along with this plan, but you were scared, I get that, I have bigger things to worry about than how much you hurt me right now" she said, holding her double-headed axe firmly in her hands and kicking the door in easily in one fluid movement.

"Let's go" she said as the four fighters entered the building, weapons drawn in preparation for the fight. Buffy was counting on Luisa expecting just her and not a group of opposition, that and the fact she'd have nowhere to run from a third floor apartment in daylight hours would surely be useful.

"You hear that?" Spike asked as they headed up the final flight of stairs. Maniacal laughter was clear from the apartment above, and it was so evil it made Xander shiver involuntarily.

"I'm thinkin' Little Miss SlayerVamp is more than a few bricks missin' from her wall" he said warily as he followed on up the stairs. Illyria glanced over at him with what she hoped was an encouraging look.

"I have fought and killed many demons, both sane and insane" she told him, "I have no more fear of this enemy than any that came before"

"Think I could borrow some of your confidence there, honey" Xander asked with a nervous laugh, but Illyria was too stunned by his pet name for her to give an answer.

"Guys, focus" Buffy told them as they all stood outside the door, "Spike and I go in first, you two hang back til we need you, got it?"

"Understood" Xander answered for both of them and they watched as Buffy and Spike brought the door down with ease.

They were a little surprised to find the room was pitch black, especially since it was still only early evening and therefore the sun shone brightly outside.

"Welcome, Miss Summers" said a cold voice in the darkness, "I see you have brought me a meal"

"Guess again, bitch" Spike called back, really wishing he still had his vampiric vision right now, seeing in the gloom would be so much easier that way.

"Oh, the white haired creature has power, or at least bravado" Luisa laughed, "This will not save you" she smiled as a light flipped on in the centre of the room, revealing what appeared to be an averagley pretty seventeen year old girl in a pure white dress. Behind her on a chair was Davy's mother, her mouth taped shut and her wrists and ankles bound to the seat.

"And what exactly do you think is going to save _you_?" Buffy asked the girl, thinking this looked all to easy, it just had to be a trap.

"I'm not the one that needs saving" Luisa laughed, stepping back around the chair til she was behind it, "She is" she gestured down at Mary in front of her, "She put me on my path, told me I was the Slayer. She allowed me to be made what I am now, a Vampire Slayer with a child that shall be almighty"

"You got it all wrong" Buffy shook her head, taking a couple of careful steps forward, "Your kid was special to you, but it wasn't prophesied to be this great being you think it was"

"Your children have stolen the power that should have been that of my own baby!" Luisa bellowed, her demon visage slipping into place, "And you will not stop me from taking it back"

"I got an axe in my hand that'd disagree with you" Buffy told her, taking another step, wary of what the vamp might do to Mary if she made one wrong move. Davy had been right when she'd said the Watcher woman was innocent, and the less innocents that died, the better of course.

"You are so idiotic it is amusing" Luisa cackled with laughter as she leant over Mary's shoulder and looked the woman in the eye, "They forget your son in all the confusion, do they not Mary, dear"

"Davy?" Buffy frowned, wondering what she was talking about.

"He is so much more than he seems" Luisa grinned evilly, "My precious Instrument... my Vessel"

"Vessel" Buffy muttered to herself, trying to think why that was familiar. A vampire with a Vessel. The Master, he had a Vessel for the Harvest, another vampire who would feed on his behalf so that he could gain Power and leave the Hellmouth.

"Davy's not a vampire" she said aloud, "He was out in the daylight, and besides I would've known"

Luisa laughed once again before she explained.

"Foolish child!" she spat at Buffy, suddenly serious and somehow looking down on the woman who was almost a foot taller than her and had more than five years of age in physical looks over her.

"Some sort of claim or thrall" Spike muttered, catching his Slayer's attention, "Don't have to turn the fella to put him under her control, vamp's got other ways to do that"

"Such a simple boy, it took little effort" Luisa smirked, "And now you see comes your dilemma my friends. To stay, fight myself and save your friend the old Watcher, or go, and try to save your unworthy brats from death"

"Illyria! Xander!" Buffy called behind herself without actually turning. "Head for the hotel, try calling, warn the gang not to let Davy in!"

"We shall" Illyria said back as she and Xander scrambled back down the stairs.

"Guess that just leaves you, me, and the skank" Spike smirked almost evilly as when he was a demon as he looked at the creature who would take his children's lives.

"Still a dilemma though" Luisa grinned back at him, "Would you risk dear Mary's life to take mine? What do you say, dear sweet Watcher?" the crazy Slayer asked the woman as she tore the tape from her mouth.

"Buffy" she gasped as she looked over at the blonde, "Save your children, and mine, I beg you. Kill this creature, she is not Luisa any longer"

"'S where you're just a little bit wrong, luv" Spike cut in before Buffy could speak.

"She is not wrong" Luisa snapped, "For once she is right, I am better than the lowly creature I once was. I am the True Chosen"

"You are a silly bitch with illusions of grandeur" Spike told her, "And yeah, it sucks you got turned and lost your kid, but you are not gonna take that out on _my_ kids, you stupid, trumped-up, whore!" he yelled, ready for her attack that came within micro-seconds of the insulting words leaving his lips. Luisa crashed into Spike, bringing him to the ground as Buffy ran to untie Mary and get her out of the room.

"Go!" she yelled as she got her as far as the stairs.

Though Luisa was strong, it was soon obvious that Spike was stronger. He'd been a vampire for almost a century more than the Italian girl, and his kids lives were at stake. There was just no way he was going to let this skank win. With a powerful kick he dislodged her from his body and sent her hurtling across the room, and Spike scrambled to his feet.

"Slayer, make sure your Watcher woman gets out of here" he called to Buffy, "then go back up the gang. The kids matter most here, right?"

"Sure you can deal?" she checked as Luisa rose up from the ground, growling like a wild animal.

"This is me we're talking about here, pet" he smirked and with a swift nod and a look of trust and love she left him to the fight, pelting down the stairs and helping Mary along too.

Back in the apartment Luisa laughed as she scrambled to her feet, emerging from the dark with a weapon of her own that Spike was wary of. It looked like some kind of fire but it sat in her hand without burning as flames would torch a vamp.

"Your precious lover would leave you alone to tackle me" the creature smirked as she stepped around the room and Spike did the same, til the two of them were circling each other like predatory animals, "She does not understand my power. Not one amongst you could comprehend"

"See, that's where you're wrong" Spike told her, still breathing a little unevenly from the scuffle, "Done two Slayers in my time, know their strengths and weakness. Should know vamps too seein' as I was one for so bloody long"

"Yes, indeed" Luisa nodded, still smiling in frightening fashion, "You are why I exist. William the Bloody, murderer of she who wielded the power of the Chosen One before I"

"'M not him anymore" Spike shook his head slightly, mindful of keeping his eyes on the target and ever wary of the apparent fire in her hand, "but yeah, s'pose in some way it's down to me you're standin' there now"

"And how will your lover feel" Luisa smirked, "when she realises this is all your fault?"

"She won't give a toss" Spike scoffed, "She's seen the best and the very worst of me, and she loves me all the same" he explained, "Just like I love her. That's stronger than anything you can throw at us" he told her smartly, casting a glance at the flames that still roared within her palm.

"Love for your woman" she nodded, "But what of the love for your companion, the blue girl"

"I'm fond enough of Lyri, but she can take care of herself" Spike smirked, thinking how stupid this bint was if she thought Illyria needed anyone's protection from anything.

"Really?" Luisa checked, "The power of the mind is a wonderful thing, _William_" she told him, raising her right hand in front of her so the fire ball spun and flickered, "This I have learnt, and this you should know"

Watching the ball of flame, Spike saw images, pictures within it of great suffering and torment of random people and creatures.

"What the...?"

"Her visions" Luisa explained, though Spike had not completely asked the question, "Pretty pictures in her mind, illusions that can be altered..."

"You!" Spike yelled suddenly understanding, "You messed with her head! Made her think Red was attacking before, and that other vision first day we got here knocked her out too long"

"It should have killed her" Luisa told him coldly, "She is much stronger than I gave her credit for, but still human" she reminded him, "I can affect what she sees, what she feels, though the Powers That Be send her these visions, the power I possess can warp and alter. One wrong move from you" she threatened, "and I will scramble her mind so far beyond reach, no-one will ever find her"

"You evil soddin' bitch" Spike seethed, knowing if he still had the demon in him he never would have been able to keep this image of calm up for so long, since it was killing him now.

"It was simple before" Luisa laughed maniacally once again, "Now you make a real choice. Take a chance to save your precious children, or let me go and save your friend" she smirked, thinking she was victorious.

"If that's the choice" Spike said, letting his battle stance go, "What else can I do?" he shrugged as if he'd given up. Looking to the ceiling he sighed.

"I'm sorry, Lyri"

By the time Luisa realised he had fooled her, it was almost too late and she barely had time to cast her spell before Spike ran at her full pelt.

Still, the blue-haired one would suffer, the blonde Slayer would no doubt stop to try to help as was her way, and the Vessel would be granted access to the children. If she could just hold Spike off for a while longer, soon Luisa would have the power to bring him, and this whole miserable world, to it's knees.

_To Be Continued...  
_


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N : Apologies for the cliffhanger, but hey, it's keeps you all reading! Here's the next chapter, and there will be just one more after this.  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 23

"Oh God" Xander gasped, just trying to get oxygen into his body. He was finding out just how fast Illyria could move and it turned out it was way faster than he himself could manage. He stopped momentarily, bending at the waist and sucking in lungfuls of air.

"C'mon Illyria" he said to himself since she would never hear him at this range, "Can't you slow up for just a second?"

As if she'd heard him, Illyria immediately stopped moving and turned back, calling to him. Xander was just thinking how weird that was, wondering vaguely if perhaps she had enhanced hearing to go with her strength and running abilities, when suddenly Lyri fell to her knees.

"Illyria!" he yelled, dragging himself up and hurrying to her, his lack of energy and breath forgotten when he realised she was in pain, "Illyria, talk to me" he urged her as her hands went to her head and she writhed in terrible pain on the ground, "Is it a vision?" Xander checked, not entirely convinced. This seemed much worse than the episodes she'd had before.

"I...can't... make out..." she gasped out before screaming loudly and making Xander physically wince.

He dropped down beside her and tried to hold her but she pushed him away, trying to concentrate on the images that flashed through her mind and finding it impossible. All she could feel was the pain and suffering of so many, all she could see was bloodshed and horror. She forced her eyes open and found Xander still with her, looking so concerned. He was stunned and worried to see an orange light that swirled behind the usual bright blue of her eyes. Something wasn't right here, this was so much more than just a vision.

"This is not the Powers That Be" Illyria confirmed, moaning in agony for a moment before she found the strength to continue, "Something... is inside my mind" she gasped out, "It means to frighten... it shall not succeed" she said panting for air as Xander held onto her, wishing there was something, anything he could do to help her.

"Xander" Buffy called as she caught up to them, "What's happening?"

"I don't know" he shook his head, "Something's wrong. This isn't just the visions, something's making it worse"

The Slayer looked down at the girl with the blue streaked hair with worried eyes who held her head and tried to breathe through the sheer agony that shot through her whole being.

"Oh God" Buffy gasped as blood ran from Illyria's nose, and Xander tried to hold his girl, ripping at his shirt so he had something to catch her blood with.

"It has to be Luisa" he realised, yelling over the noise of Illyria's painful screams, "Some kind of spell or something... Buff, we have to do something"

"No" Illyria coughed, breathing hard, "You must go, save your children" she told the Slayer, "You must go" she repeated and Buffy didn't need to be told again. As much as she hated to see her new friend suffer, her babies were in danger and they had to come first right now.

"Go, Buffy" Xander agreed, knowing it was the right thing, "I'll stay with Illyria"

The blonde nodded once before running off in the direction of the hotel, only hoping she could make it before Davy did, or that the gang wouldn't let him through the barrier until she arrived.

* * *

"Don't cry sweetie, it's okay" Willow told the baby in her arms, but poor Chloe was inconsolable as if she sensed the terrible situation she and her sister, and indeed the whole Scooby Gang were in. The adults tried to reassure them and keep them calm, but they were a little panicked themselves, wondering if their friends would make it through the fighting.

Dawn went to Ellie who had picked up on her sister's distress and joined in with the screaming and crying.

"Come on, Buffy" she said to herself as she looked out of the window, "All of you fight, please" she said, offering up a silent prayer to the Powers That Be that her sister and her friends would come back alive and in time to keep the kids safe too.

A frantic knock on the door made everybody jump and Giles told them all to be quiet as he went over and called through to the hallway.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"It is me, Davy" said a panicked voice, "Luisa, she is insane. She knows I told you things about her plans and she wants me dead, you have to let me in!" he cried. They couldn't see that the expression on his face was far from anguished, merely straight and plain. His eyes glowed a strange green colour as the effects of the thrall really took hold. Luisa had used threats alone to keep Davy under her control till now but when her prize demon warrior had been killed by the Slayer and her band of followers, she knew she needed more guarantees where Davy was concerned.

"We can't let him in" Andrew said nervously, "Can we?"

"I don't know" Dawn shook her head, "I mean, he could really be in danger"

"But we don't know that we can trust him" Giles pointed out, "He's been working with Luisa, we have no guarantees that it was against his will, only his word on it"

"Please, I beg you, do not let her catch me" Davy begged, "At her hand I will surely die for my betrayal"

"Oh God" Dawn gasped, feeling awfully mixed up. He'd been so good for Buffy after Spike was gone, and they seemed so happy. Now they found out he had betrayed them, but whether he'd been forced or not was unclear, as was the fact of his possible evilness.

"We can't risk it" Giles told them as the children screamed, "If he is still on Luisa's side..."

"I can tell you" Willow realised as she passed the still crying Chloe over to Andrew, "The barrier will hold everyone and everything out for at least another hour, but the spell can penetrate it without making a hole" she explained as she came towards the door and gestured for Giles to move aside. Closing her eyes the witch concentrated, the palms of her hands hovering near the surface of the door.

"Black for dark, white for light" she muttered, "define and show us, wrong or right"

A mist appeared between Willow's hands and the door glowing a variety of colours from red to blue, and green before finally settling to grey.

"Define and show us, wrong or right" she demanded more loudly as the mist swirled violently. It soon became obvious it was becoming darker and darker, till it was black as night.

"He's bad" Andrew whispered, "He's bad, he's evil, he'll kill us all!" he almost shrieked and Dawn snapped at him, telling him to calm down because he was only upsetting the children more.

"You must let me in!" Davy wailed, continuing to pound on the door as Dawn and Andrew held Chloe and Ellie tighter and backed away from the door.

"It'll be alright" Giles assured them, "Just so long as the barrier holds, he can't get further than the door" he said as Davy made attempts to break it in.

"If the barrier holds" Willow said worriedly, "There's no way to know exactly what Luisa has done to him" she told the Watcher, "If he can channel her power somehow..." her sentence trailed away but the look on her face told everyone just what she meant.

Each person in the room stepped back from the door, all hoping and praying that whatever was happening with their friends and Luisa that it would end in the Vampire/Slayer's death, and very soon.

* * *

"Talk to me, Xander" Illyria begged of him as she lay on the ground in the alleyway with her head in his lap, shaking and writhing at intervals when the pain became to much and caused her whole body to spasm, "Your words keep me here" she told him as tears ran from her eyes and blood from her nose.

Xander himself felt like bawling as he held the girl as best he could and stroked her hair in what he hoped was a comforting way. If this went on too much longer, he was worried he was going to lose Lyri either mentally or completely. He couldn't lose another woman, not after the tragic loss of Anya and even Cordelia. He'd known Illyria such a short time but already he had deep feelings for her, maybe love at first sight wasn't such an unbelievable thing after all.

"Sure, talking" he said, trying to sound as upbeat as he could, "Shouldn't be a problem, I could talk for my country. Willow and Buffy said I should get medals for the rambling, shame it's not an Olympic event" he smiled painfully as Illyria yelped from pain once again and shifted awkwardly in his arms.

"But y'know I can be action man too" he told her, saying anything just to try and keep her grounded, "I can fight, beaten my share of demons down. Sure Buffy helps, and Willow, and Giles, hey even Spike when he got all non-evil, but I always did my part. Did I tell you the story of how I lost my eye? That was some fight"

"Tell me now" she gasped and coughed before continuing, "Tell me your heroic tales, I wish to hear all" she told him, "I want to know everything, and time will not last forever"

To Xander it sounded as if she might be giving up and he wouldn't allow that.

"Time lasts longer than you think" he told her, "Hey Spike's been around like a hundred years, that's a way long time, and Angel he was like two hundred and forty something. I knew a girl once that clocked over a thousand years" he ended more quietly than he'd begun and Illyria noticed the waver in his voice.

"One you loved?" she guessed, trying to look up at him but finding it almost impossible to raise her head at all.

"Yeah, one I loved" Xander agreed, still stroking her hair, "She was special... just like you are"

"You believe I can be special to you?" Illyria gasped as pain shot through her being once again.

"I already know that you are" he assured her, "and when all this is over you and me are gonna be special together, for a long time yet" he said firmly, "Least we could be, if you wanted"

"In this moment" Illyria swallowed hard, "I want nothing else"

Xander closed his eye and prayed to any Power that would listen that she would come through this intact, and that Spike could kill Luisa before it was too late.

* * *

"You were spoken of as such a great warrior in times past" Luisa yelled at Spike as they fought, "The mighty William the Bloody, and now reduced to this, a pathetic human" she smirked, "The only thing you shall be known for now is dying at my hand"

"Not bloody likely!" Spike yelled back at her as he jumped and grabbed the light fitting, swinging forward and kicking her square in the face. Luisa went sprawling but Spike knew he had just micro seconds before she was back on her feet. Blood running into his eyes almost blinded him but it didn't matter. Reaching out a hand he caught the edge of the thick material at the window, and as he fell to his knees he pulled the covering away, just as Luisa made a dive at him.

The scream she let out was beyond anything Spike had ever bore witness to, so loud and pain filled it nearly deafened him as the sun burnt Luisa's flesh until her body crumbled to ash before his eyes.

"It's over" Spike gasped, not quite believing it as he breathed heavily from the exertion of the fight. As tired and broken as his body felt from the awesome battle, he got to his feet once again and ran to the door. He belonged at Buffy's side, with his children. Though he knew he must've killed Luisa before Davy got to his kids, he still needed to see they were safe before he could fully believe it, before he could truly relax and say the right side had won.

_To Be Continued..._


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N : Well, this fic's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride, but now that ride has to come to an end. I'm glad so many people have enjoyed reading this fic, and I thank you all for your reviews and opinions. Here's hoping the ending does not disappoint.  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 24

"Something's changed" Willow said suddenly, "I can feel it, something's shifted" she said as silence reigned beyond the barrier. As the group edged towards the door there was a loud knocking on it that made them all jump back in alarm.

"Guys! Willow! It's me!" Buffy yelled.

"Buffy!" Dawn called back, "Davy was out there!" she warned.

"He still is" the Slayer explained, "but it's okay, you can let us in"

With just a moments hesitation, Willow summoned up her power and it took just a few minutes before the barrier came down in a flash of light. She hurried to open the door and Buffy came in, dragging an unconscious Davy behind her.

"I don't know what happened to him exactly" she admitted, "I got here, he turned and looked at me, something flashed in his eyes and then bam, he was out"

"Let's get him on the bed, take a look at him" Giles suggested, helping Buffy to do just that. Moments later the Slayer ran to her children and hugged them both tightly to her, so relieved to find them still alive and okay.

"Buffy, I think it's over" Willow told her, "Something changed. Is Luisa dead?"

"I guess so" the blonde nodded, "I left Spike fighting her, and if the battle's over she must be gone. There's just no way I can lose him" she said, getting tearful suddenly.

"Never gonna lose me again, luv" said a familiar English voice from the door and tears overcame Buffy as she let up her grip on her little girls just long enough to go to Spike, put her arms around him and help him from the door further into the room. He had a few nasty injuries, but nothing that wouldn't heal in a few days thanks to his powers.

"Thank God you're okay" Dawn cried too as she hugged her brother figure, "We were so worried"

"Wasn't exactly havin' a ball myself, pet" Spike told her, "but I knew I could beat that bitch down, had to really, for my girls" he smiled as he dropped to his knees on the floor where his children sat.

"Dada!" Ellie grinned reaching for him, and attracting Chloe's attention to the fact he was there. Spike hugged them both, injuries and pain all momentarily forgotten just for a second or two. He had Buffy and two gorgeous kids, he had his humanity and the love of a family. Again he wondered what he had ever done to deserve so much happiness, but thanked the Powers That Be he had them all the same.

"Where's Xander?" Willow asked after a moments silence.

"Yeah, and Illyria?" Andrew chimed in.

"They were on their way here when Illyria had a vision" Buffy explained to the group, "but it was more than just the regular kind, it was like too many all at once"

"It was Luisa" Spike filled in closing his eyes and cursing internally to himself, "She did a bloody spell or whatever, sent this fire ball thing into the air, told me it'd mess with Blue's head. I couldn't stop her, it was her or the kids, I... I had to make a choice"

"And you made the right one" Illyria told him as Xander helped her into the room.

"Bloody hell, Lyri, look at the state of you" Spike said as he scrambled to his feet and made sure his friend got to a comfortable chair as quickly as possible.

"You have a use for mirrors these days, William" she pointed out, "Take a look at yourself" she smirked slightly, noting the blood and dirt that covered him too.

"I think what we look like should be the last thing on our minds" Giles pointed out as he walked over to them, "It would seem Davy is back to normal, just unconscious" he explained, "I hazard a guess that when Luisa was defeated, all her power over him ended"

"Over Lyri too, I'd wager" Spike nodded, "Brain pictures give in a few minutes ago, did they luv?" he checked as Buffy came to stand behind him and put her arm around him, just so glad to know he was alive.

"They did" Illyria nodded her head slowly, "Though some of the pain remains in my skull, the bleeding has ceased, as have the images I would sooner forget"

"I still say you need to be checked out at a hospital" Xander told her as he sat on the arm of her chair and held her.

"And I repeat that I have no need for such a place" Illyria snapped half-heartedly, "Though I shall admit this young man has pleasing qualities I am quite certain his concern for my welfare shall drive me to distraction in the future" she rolled her eyes heavenward as she used the sarcasm Spike had taught her well these past months.

"You better believe it, baby" Xander told her, kissing her forehead.

"So, what now?" Dawn asked, "I mean, it's all over now, right?"  
"So it would seem" Giles agreed, "I cannot speak for anyone else of course but I think the next item on my own agenda would be sleep" he admitted.

"Don't think you're alone in that, Watcher" Spike smirked as not just the kids but also Buffy yawned loudly.

"I'm okay" the Slayer told him, "I think maybe you and me could use an over due talk before anything else" she said and Spike nodded she was right.

After much hugging and relieved tears the gang finally went their separate ways. Xander took Illyria down the hall to his hotel room, whilst Willow said she'd stay with Giles and take turns to watch Davy till he came around. After that they'd have to make sure all the spells used on him were definitely over and then help him get home. That left the witch's room empty so she offered it to Dawn and Andrew, who were eager to give Buffy, Spike, and the kids, some space. The little family deserved at least one night alone, in particular the Slayer and ex-Vampire who had so much they needed to say.

* * *

It was a couple of hours after the battle had ended. The sun was low in the sky and Buffy was just tucking the kids into bed having had a shower and a change of clothes, and was now waiting whilst Spike took his turn. She was just coming out of the kids bedroom when he emerged from the other door in just a pair of jeans.

"Hey" Buffy half-smiled as they stood their staring at each other for a moment.

"Alright pet?" Spike checked as he looked back at her.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she took a step forward and reached about a hand, fingers running down the side of his face where blood had run just hours before from the gash on his head that was already healing. A few nasty looking bruises marred the skin of his chest and arms and she hated to see him hurt like this. It only served to remind her of all the beatings he'd suffered at her own hands, how badly they'd hurt each other up to now.

"Oh Spike" she cried as she finally fell into his arms, sobbing her heart out, "I was so scared of losing you again" she admitted as they held each other tight.

"Can't say I was lovin' the idea myself, luv" he told her as he rubbed her back, "but it's alright, I'm here now. We're here together, and nothing is ever going to spoil what we have, not again"

"You can't know that" she cried into his chest but he was quite adamant about it, and pulled away til he could see her face.

"Now you listen to me, Slayer" he said, holding her chin in his hand and making her look at him, "I love you, Buffy Summers" he reminded her, "Love you more than I ever loved anyone in my whole bloody existence. You and the kids, you mean everything to me, and nothing and no-one could ever make me leave you, you hear me?"

"I hear" she nodded as more tears came to her eyes and she reached up to kiss him tenderly, "I love you Spike" she whispered against his lips, "God, I love you so much, I can't even tell you"

With no words left to explain how they felt anymore, the only other option was to show each other just how deep their love ran. Both of them had waited far too long for this day and both were strangely nervous as they went into the bedroom and lay down together. Still these nerves meant nothing as they looked into each others eyes and the old fire ignited between them, made stronger and more special by the love they now shared.

As they made true love together for just the second time in their relationship, neither could hold back tears. It was all too special, too emotional, and like nothing else they'd ever shared before.

As they lay spent together afterwards, Buffy sighed, snuggling as far into his embrace as she could get.

"I wish I'd figured out sooner what you meant to me" she said as her head lay on his chest, "Things could've been so different"

"Different doesn't necessarily mean better, luv" Spike pointed out as he kissed the top of her head, "Thinkin' about what we have now, yeah it's been a rough ride getting here but, there's nothin' I'd really change" he told her.

"I missed you" Buffy replied as her reason for wanting things to have been different, "Those months without you were so hard, if it wasn't for the kids I don't know how..." her sentence trailed away and Spike felt a damp patch forming on his skin from her tears. He held her tighter and tried to soothe her.

"I missed you too, sweetheart" he told her, "Every bloody day, and I so wish I hadn't been such a petrified little nancy boy and come and found you the moment I had the chance" he explained, "but I can't change that, I can only say I'm sorry that we both had to go through so much pain, and that I love you and don't have plans to ever, ever leave you again"

When she looked up at him, he hated to have to see the tears in her eyes and did all he could think of to do to ease her pain that still existed. He leaned down and kissed her gently, his hands sliding down her naked body beneath the covers.

"Spike" she gasped, as his lips left hers and travelled down her throat, "Marry me" she whispered in his ear.

"What did you say?" he asked, suddenly stopping what he had been doing and looking into her eyes. With a slight laugh she repeated her words.

"Marry me" she said, without a hint of nerves or regret, "I love you so much and I can't stand not having you in my life" she explained, "So I thought maybe you'd want to marry me?" she said, waiting for some kind of reaction and unable to read any expression on his face other than confusion.

"Way to throw a fella off his game, pet" he said a moment later, blinking in shock, "You really do believe in bleedin' girl power and all that, don't you?"

"I believe in certain guys giving answers to important questions before certain girls explode from the anticipation" she said, feeling suddenly nervous about her question.

"Do I want to marry you?" Spike echoed her question back, fingers running through her hair as he looked at her, "Buffy, luv, I want nothing else" he assured her, "Yes, I'll marry you" he smiled as she practically threw herself at him and kissed him deeply. They ended up making sweet love again, and the near full moon was high in the sky when they next paid attention to anything but each other.

"Remember this?" Spike smirked as he pulled a ring from his finger and showed it to the woman in his arms.

"How could I forget?" she smiled, as she saw it was the silver skull ring he'd given to her during their fake engagement years ago, under another of Willow's botched spell attempts.

"I know you did it your way" Spike said as he shifted away from her and pulled himself up til he was on his knees beside her, "but I'm an old fashioned sort of bloke, and now we're gonna do it my way" he smirked, taking hold of Buffy's hand in his as she pulled herself up to a sitting position, both of them still naked from their earlier activities and not caring at all.

"Buffy Anne Summers, I've loved you for years now, possibly since the very first time I laid eyes on you in fact" Spike told her, "We've come a bloody long way since then, had our good times and plenty of bloody bad ones too. We've both died and lived longer than we should, we've made two soddin' gorgeous kids together, and I can't tell you how much you mean to me. I love you so much, Slayer. Will you marry me?"

"I will" she said with a tearful smile as he slid the old ring on her finger and then kissed her again, what would have been another round of physical love proving being interrupted by Chloe crying from across the hall.

"Bugger" Spike cursed, though he was smiling as they both got out of bed to go to their kids, Buffy pulling on her dressing gown and Spike going for his jeans again since he had nothing else there. Annoyingly, by the time the pair reached the children's bedroom door, their girl was silent again.

"Must've been talking in a dream or something" Buffy whispered, "She seems fine now" she said as she stood in the doorway, Spike right behind her with his arms around her waist.

"Don't reckon I'll be dreaming at all tonight" he told her just as softly, "What's left to dream for when I already have you and them?" he shrugged as Buffy turned in his arms and gazed up into his bright blue eyes.

"I was just thinking the exact same thing" she smiled, right before they kissed.

The End

**A/N2 : Had to end on the Spuffy, it was the only way I know! Final reviews would be very much appreciated. I've loved writing this fic, which has been a little different to most of my others, and again I thank everyone who has taken the time to read and review.**


End file.
